The Obama administration has set itself up for a fight with Wall Street after resisting European demands to include financial services regulation in transatlantic trade talks as the list of sticking points build before negotiations begin this week.
Washington is concerned that including a framework for financial regulatory convergence in the talks could be used by banks to circumvent tough rules stemming from the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, and as a way for Europeans to delay their own reforms.
But the EU sees a financial chapter as an important component of any deal – a view shared by many US banks that believe the Obama administration’s objections are misplaced.