WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will not compromise in its drive to secure fair access for U.S. agricultural products in its trade negotiations with the European Union and Britain, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told lawmakers on Wednesday.
Lighthizer said Washington had made “very little headway” in its trade negotiations with Brussels, and said he was skeptical that an agreement could be completed with the EU or Britain in coming months due to the lack of in-person negotiating sessions.
He said Washington would insist on changes that allowed U.S. farm products to be sold to the EU and Britain, calling resistance to U.S. agricultural imports “thinly veiled protectionism.” “We either have fair access for agriculture, or we won’t have a deal with either one of them,” he said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal)
