Anthony Gardner took the “unusual step” of writing to each of the permanent representatives of the 28 EU nations to voice his concerns on how Commissioner Hogan has been discussing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Ambassador Gardner wrote to each of the 28 permanent representatives on Wednesday of this week to, in his words, “correct what we consider to be a series of misleading statements in the press by Commissioner Phil Hogan regarding the US approach on agricultural issues in TTIP, as well as the relative degree of market access to agricultural markets on both sides of the Atlantic.”

The ambassador went on to say that Hogan’s comment “are not conducive to the negotiations. They only serve to inflame the opinions of important U.S. agricultural groups, as well of legislators in Congress.” He added that Hogan has “repeated [these comments on TTIP] on nearly a weekly basis for many months”

The Irish Farmers Journal has obtained a copy of Ambassador Gardner’s email which contains various articles attached by Gardner verifying his claims against Hogan. The articles date as far back as 2014 and one of the articles highlighted by Ambassador Gardner was written by the Irish Farmers Journal in September 2015.

Private talks

Ambassador Gardner also appeared to take issue with the style in which Commissioner Hogan has been talking in public regarding his stance on TTIP. The ambassador said views on TTIP would not be made in “public” and expressed concern if a deal would happen at all given the animosity between the two sides.

“While differences of opinion are natural, especially on tough issues like agriculture, they should be aired privately, rather than in the public arena. It is quite clear that there will no trade agreement that doesn’t resolve both sides’ concerns,” Ambassador Gardner said.

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