EU-US free trade deal good for Italy

(ANSA) - Brussels, December 18 - The proposed free-trade agreement between the United States and the European Union under negotiation in Brussels is "an opportunity for Italy", Premier Matteo Renzi said Thursday. The planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) must "move forward" said Renzi.
    He added that it should be tied "to another Italian battle, that of 'made-in' (Italy) products, in turn linked to the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises". The TTIP deal grew out of a decision of late 2011 to boost trade and revive stagnant economies on both sides of the Atlantic.
    Negotiations began in June 2013 but a deal is unlikely to be brokered by the original deadline of 2015.
    It must also be approved by the European Council and the European Parliament, and then separately by the national parliaments of all 28 EU member states before it can come into force.