Lots of Talk, Little Action? Chances and Impediments for a New EU-US Trade Agenda
Stormy-Annika Mildner & Claudia Schmucker, AICGS | January 2012
The annual meeting of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) in November 2011 presented an opportunity for German and American policymakers to make progress on their efforts at greater trade integration. This Issue Brief from the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) gives an overview of the EU and the U.S.’ trade agendas and looks at how greater transatlantic cooperation can benefit the conclusion of the Doha Round and transatlantic trade.
From the introduction:
On 29 November 2011, the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) met in Washington, DC, to discuss how to deepen the transatlantic marketplace. The meeting was a window of opportunity to breathe some new life into the transatlantic trade partnership before the U.S. presidential campaign gears up in early 2012: After an initial neglect of trade policy, the Obama administration is slowly defining its trade policy agenda, so far with a focus on the Pacific region. The U.S. Congress finally passed three pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia in October 2011, freeing the way for new projects. While the U.S. public is increasingly skeptical about trade, most Americans still say that increased trade with advanced countries such as Canada, Japan, and the European Union would be good for the United States. And at least some industries and industry federations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have rediscovered their interest in deeper transatlantic integration.
The U.S. and EU could have used the 2011 TEC meeting to launch a bigger vision for the transatlantic partnership and position themselves to put pressure on the upcoming Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 15-17 December 2011. Alas, this opportunity has been missed. This is not to say that the meeting failed. First and foremost, the TEC tasked a joint High-Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth with identifying and assessing options for strengthening the EU-U.S. trade and investment relationship. The group will be co-chaired by Unites States Trade Representative Ron Kirk and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. As such, the working group is coordinated by two high-ranking officials, which gives some hope for an ambitious agenda at least. In addition, the TEC endorsed a comprehensive work plan for electric vehicles and related infrastructure. And it restated its commitment to prevent the emergence of new and unintended barriers to trade and investment, especially in key emerging technologies such as nanotechnology and cloud computing. But whether this will suffice is rather questionable. Without doubt, it will take more vision and leadership than presented at the latest TEC meeting to further the transatlantic project. The effort would be worthwhile as both transatlantic economic integration and a conclusion of the Doha Round offer considerable benefits.
This Issue Brief will provide a short overview of the current EU and U.S. trade policy agendas to identify commonalities and scope for future cooperation. It will then turn to two areas where a greater transatlantic effort is long overdue: The Doha Round and transatlantic economic integration. We aim at explaining why progress has been so slow while at the same time highlighting the benefits of closer cooperation. The paper ends with recommendations on how to enhance the transatlantic trade partnership.
The entire Issue Brief is available for download as a PDF from the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies .
