USA and European Union (EU)

USA

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a trade agreement that is currently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States of America.

It aims at removing trade barriers in a wide range of economic sectors to make it easier to buy and sell goods and services between the EU and the US.

On top of cutting tariffs across all sectors, the EU and the US want to tackle barriers behind the customs border – such as differences in technical regulations, standards and approval procedures. These often cost unnecessary time and money for companies who want to sell their products on both markets. For example, when an appliance is approved as safe in the EU, it often has to undergo a new approval procedure in the US even though the safety standards are similar.

The TTIP negotiations will also look at opening both markets for services, investment, and public procurement.  They could also shape global rules on trade.

CECED supports the TTIP negotiations between the EU and the United States, as a Partnership has the potential to deliver significant economic benefits and contribute to the development of both economies. An EU-US agreement could reduce excessive regulatory differences and unnecessary red tape. Further integration and streamlining of the transatlantic regulatory environment would significantly reduce costs for both CECED members and consumers of household appliances.

European Union

The European Union (EU) was founded in 1948 in the aftermath of World War Two to promote stability and economic cooperation between member states. Comprised of 28 European countries, the EU has established common institutions – the Council (which represents national governments), the European Parliament (which represents the people), and the European Commission (an independent body that represents the collective European interest) – to democratically legislate specific matters of joint interest to participating countries at a European level. The United States, who is not an EU member, has maintained a Mission to the EU since 1961.

The U.S. has a strong strategic partnership with the EU reflected in our close cooperation on regional crises and conflicts, and our extensive collaboration on a broad range of global challenges from counter-terrorism to nonproliferation. The U.S. and EU have significant trade and investment relations.

Did you know …

• EU and U.S.-based companies account for nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of the top R&D companies worldwide.  (Source: Transatlantic Economy 2014)

• EU-U.S. merchandise trade climbed to more than $700 billion in 2015. (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce)

• The transatlantic economy generates close to $5 trillion in total commercial sales a year and employs up to 15 million workers in mutually “onshored” jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. (Source: Transatlantic Economy 2014)

• The transatlantic economy is the largest and wealthiest market in the world, accounting for over 50 percent of world GDP in terms of value and 40 percent in terms of purchasing power. (Source: Transatlantic Economy 2016)

• The U.S. and Europe are each other’s primary source and destination for foreign direct investment, together accounting for 56.7 percent of the inward stock of foreign direct investment (FDI), and a whopping 71 percent of outward stock of FDI. (Source: Transatlantic Economy 2014)

• U.S. investment in the Netherlands since 2000 was 14 times more than US investment in China during the same period. US investment in the UK was more than 10 times more, and in Ireland nearly six times more, than in China. (Source: Transatlantic Economy 2014)

• Eliminating or harmonizing just one-quarter of current non-tariff barriers in bilateral trade could boost a combined EU and US GDP by $106 billion. (Source: Transatlantic Economy 2014)

• According to a 2013 study, gains from a free trade agreement between the EU and U.S. could add up to a €210 billion (approximately $273 billion) boost to the two economies. (Source: Center for European Policy Research)

• The EU and US together contributed over $120 billion in official development assistance in 2012.  (Sources: OECD, USAID,EuropeAid)

• As of January 2011, nearly 1.7 million refugees from around the world call the US or an EU Member State home. (Source: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)

• In 2011/12, more than 168,000 students from the US and EU studied abroad on the other side of the Atlantic. (Source:Institute of International Education)

• More than 11 million EU tourists traveled to the US in 2012. (Source: US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration)