Up to 10,000 jobs will be created in the export sector if a trade and investment agreement is secured between the European Union and the United States.

That is according to an independent report being published today by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

The report will be published as the Jobs Committee sits to discuss the plan, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership - or TTIP.

The European Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, is visiting Dublin today to discuss the agreement, and will appear before the EU Affairs Committee.

The agreement is being negotiated with the aim of making it easier for companies on both sides of the Atlantic to access each other's markets.

The EU wants to remove the barriers to trade, such as lengthy administrative checks, that increase the cost of trade in goods.

The deal would also create 'spill-over' effects with benefits not directly related to trade.

For example, scrapping tariffs would lower the cost of the goods exported - which would increase sales - and mean more jobs to enable firms to produce more.

However, there is some opposition to the partnership - with some groups expressing concerns for relationships between governments and businesses.

But the EU says that where removing EU customs duties immediately could pose difficulties for firms, they want to agree a longer phase-out period to allow firms to
adapt.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton told Newstalk Breakfast that everybody wins under the deal.