The United States and the European Union (EU) entered a third round of trade negotiations Monday in Washington aimed at creating a powerful free-trade bloc to aid their economies and create jobs. U.S. and EU trade officials returned to Washington, where the talks started in July, to draft the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), an ambitious agreement to expand trade, investment, and regulatory cooperation. Announced by President Barack Obama and EU leaders last February, the effort seeks to further enhance the current trade relationship, which already averages low tariffs and is the world's biggest, accounting for almost half of global economic output.
