updated 19 June 2013
The European Union and the United States are each other’s main trading partners and enjoy the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world. In 2011, EU imports from the US amounted to 11 % and the exports to 17 % of its extra-EU trade, whereas EU-27 accoounted for 17 % of US imports and 19 % of their exports. Transatlantic trade flows (goods and services trade plus earnings and payments on investment) averaged $4 billion each day through the first three quarters of 2011. The total stock of transatlantic investment exceeded $3 trillion in 2010. In 2008 their combined economies accounted for nearly 60 % of global GDP, approximately 33 % of world trade in goods and 42 % of world trade in services. Both partners make up for more than half of FDI in each others economy. 
Europe and America both support a “rules-based” trading system. Further more the EU and the US both want “a high level of protection for our people from risks to their health, safety, financial security and environment”, as stressed by the Trade Commissioner in a speech at Transatlantic Business Council, 5 December 2012.
As the Lisbon Treaty grants the European Parliament a more important role in international agreements, even the American Congress recently acknowledged the growing importance of the European parliament in matters of EU trade policy. In November 2012, the trade Commissioner stressed four areas that he would like to see inlcuded in an agreement: tariff elimination, services liberalisation, public procurement and regulatory cooperation. The 13th February 2013 the European Union and United States promised to initiate the necessary procedures to launch negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The parties will now launch internal procedures leading to the beginning of negotiations. 12 March 2013 the European Commission agreed draft negotiating directives (COM(2013)136) for a Council decision authorising the opening of negotiations. The US administration will notify the Congress triggering a 90-day layover period. After the Council approval to launch the negotiations (Luxemburg, 14 June 2013), President Obama, EC President Barroso and European Council President Van Rompuy, announced the 17th the first round of negotiations on the TTIP for the week of July 8 in Washington, D.C., under the leadership of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Final Report – U.S.-EU High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth , 11 February 2013
Interim Report – U.S.-EU High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth , 19 June 2012
Overviews
The US-EU trade agreement begins to take shape / By Fernando Heller, dpa, June 17, 2013
The European Union and the United States form the largest economic relationship in the world. Still, there is more to be done to deepen and broaden their transatlantic commercial ties. Could the next step be an ambitious trade agreement between the economic giants?
Transatlantic Economic Relations: Two heads are better than one! Elfriede Bierbrauer, DG EXPO Policy Department, June 2012
A Transatlantic Zero Agreement: Estimating the Gains from Transatlantic Free Trade in Goods / by Fredrik Erixon and Matthias Bauer in ECIPE OCCASIONAL PAPER No. 4/2010
Deepening U.S.-EU Trade Relations / in: 2012 Trade Policy Agenda and 2011 Annual Report. Chapter III – Bilateral and Regional Negotiations and Agreements. p. 18-19
Discussing a number of trade policy priorities that USTR and other agencies handled with counterparts in EU institutions and with EU Member State governments.
News
Seven things that could derail a US-European free trade agreement / By Tim Fernholz, Quartz, June 18, 2013
US and European Union negotiators have agreed to kick off long-awaited free trade talks on July 8. So, what’s going to kill the deal?
The US-EU free trade agreement begins to take shape / By Fernando Heller, dpa, 12 April 2013
EU Draft Mandate Avoids Farm Subsidies, Privacy; Highlights Procurement / InsideTrade, April 1, 2013
Obama Expresses Guarded Optimism On U.S.-EU Trade Deal, But Sees No Guarantee, Inside Trade, March 12, 2013
This internal pushback in the EU is one of three reasons that Obama cited for why a deal is possible when it has not been in the past
Impact assessment
Commission Staff Working Document. Impact Assessment Report on the future of EU-US trade relations, SWD(2013) 68 final, 12.3.2013
Initial appraisal of a European Commission Impact Assessment. Europen Commossion proposal to authorise the opening of negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the European Union and United States of America / Maniaki-Griva, Alexia, European Parliament. DG IPOL. Impact Assessment Unit, April 2013, 9 p.
“This note seeks to provide an initial analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Commission’s Impact Assessment (IA) accompanying the above proposal to the Council, submitted on 12 March 2013.”
Analysis
Instead of Free Trade, Have the Transatlantic Trade Talks / By Daniel J. IkensonShare, Cato Institute, June 18 2013
“how much does it really matter that free traders have won the intellectual debate when, in practice, trade policy is distinctly anti-intellectual and free trade is the rare exception, not the rule, around the world?”
A new transatlantic partnership / Stuart E. Eizenstat, ESharp, April 2013
For the EU, as I saw personally in years of negotiations with the EU on a wide variety of subjects from trade to sanctions, negotiations with the European Commission must also take into account the particular interests of individual member states, especially in areas with the greatest potential benefit, like agricultural tariffs and regulations.
The EU-US Trade and Investment Partnership / EP Library Briefing by Carmen-Cristina Cirlig posted on 16 May 2013
On 13 February 2013, European Union (EU) and United States (US) leaders announced the start of procedures for the launch of negotiations on a transatlantic free trade deal. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) would address a broad range of issues, from the elimination of tariffs to reducing regulatory barriers and developing rules for global trade.
Principal EU-US trade disputes / EP Library Briefing by Laine Skoba, 23 April 2013
The prospect of transatlantic free trade talks has brought the EU-US trade relationship, the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world, into the spotlight. Trade disputes account for a small fraction of the total volume of this trade, around 2% according to the Commission, despite often receiving prominent media coverage. But a number of long-running disputes between the EU and the US are indicative of the challenges negotiators of a bilateral trade agreement face.
Reducing Transatlantic Barriers to Trade and Investment an Economic Assessment : Final Project Report / Joseph Francois (project leader), Centre for Economic Policy Research, London, March 2013
Current patterns of tariffs — Non-tariff barriers — Indexes and econometrics — Technical Discussion on CGE Modelling Set Up — Spill-overs — Limited Scenarios — Full FTA — Output and Trade — Sustainability Impacts
U.S.-EU FTA Talks Chart a New Path for Global Trade / By Edward Alden, on 13 Mar 2013, Briefing World Politics Review, 12 Mar 2013 .
The HLWG report on a future EU-US trade and investment agreement : a short comment / Elfriede BIERBRAUER, Roberto BENDINI, Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies, February 2013
The final report of the High-Level Working on Jobs and Growth (HLWG) defines the scope of future EU-US negotiations. Implementing the HLWG’s recommendations should lead to a better-integrated transatlantic marketplace, which Members of the European Parliament have been demanding for years. A far-reaching transatlantic agreement may have positive spillover effects regarding third countries —and notably emerging ones — and may help to restore the leadership that the EU and the US once enjoyed in international trade and investment matters
Ways and means towards a future EU-US trade and investment agreement / Elfriede BIERBRAUER (in collaboration with Giulio SABBATI, Library, for statistical data), Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies, 03 October 2012
Sticky technical barriers to trade exist, particularly in the field of agriculture, as do nontariff barriers, which are more difficult to overcome. However, the economic importance of the EU and the US to one another, their common values and mutual support of free trade should offer sufficient common ground for taking up the challenge
For Transatlantic Trade, This Time Is Different : Why the Latest U.S.-EU Trade Talks Are Likely to Succeed / Tyson Barker, Foreign Affairs, February 26, 2013
For full article, please ask the Library
EU-US free trade project – significance, hopes and obstacles : a Look Behind The News / by Ferdinando Riccardi, Agence Europe, 19 Feb. 2013
EU sets ambitious US trade pact deadline / By Joshua Chaffin in Brussels and James Politi, FT.com, February 13, 2013
The EU and the US on Wednesday vowed to complete talks on a new trade agreement within two years, as the two trading powers outlined an ambitious timeline for a project that boasts huge commercial potential but is also rife with complications.
Potential Effects from an EU–US Free Trade Agreement – Sweden in Focus / Susanna Kinnman, Thomas Hagberg, Kommerskollegium, Nov. 2012
Based on an initiative from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Board of Trade has conducted a simulation of a potential FTA. The analysis is based on a commonly used economic model describing the world economy. Effects on trade and national income are estimated for the EU and the US, but the main focus of this study is the effect of such an agreement on the Swedish economy
Resetting the Transatlantic Economic Council / Atlantic Council and the Bertelsmann Foundation, October 15, 2009
In light of the role for the G20 in financial regulation, economic development, energy and climate issues, strong U.S.-EU cooperation within the TEC is increasingly essential.
International Approaches to Conflicts of Interest in Public Procurement: A Comparative Review / James Jurich, Journal: EPPPL – Issue: 4/2012 – pp. 242-257
This Article examines the current regulatory treatment of conflicts of interest and proposed changes to the public procurement regimes of the United States and the European Union. It suggests that a principal-agent model may be a useful tool for thinking about conflicts of interest and formulating policies capable of mitigating the risks posed by them to the integrity and legitimacy of public procurement
Stakeholder views
Transatlantic Economic Council Joint Statement, November 29, 2011
Annexes to the TEC Joint Statement, November 29, 2011
Secure Trade and Supply Chain Security — Intellectual Property Rights — Investment — Raw Materials — Bio-economy and Biobased Products — E-Health — ICT Services Trade Related Principles — SME Cooperation — Cloud Computing — Nanotechnology — Work Plan for Advancing Transatlantic e-Mobility Cooperation
The Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) was set up in 2007 between the United States and the European Union in order to oversee and accelerate government-to-government cooperation and to promote economic integration. The Council already contributed to a cutback in non-tariff trade barriers. However the excellent economic relations have also been marked by trade conflicts in the past, such as on the importation of genetically modified organisms (GMO), subsidies (Airbus – Boeing) or antitrust suits (Microsoft). These conflicts may affect up to 2 % of transatlantic trade.
2008 EU-US Summit Declaration Brdo, Slovenia, 10 June 2008
p. 11-12: Transatlantic Partnership
p. 16-26: Transatlantic Economic Council report to the EU-US Summit 2008 : Review of progress under the framework for advancing transatlantic economic integration between the European Union and the United States of America
p. 27-28: EU-US open investment statement
Joint Declaration by the leaders of the European Union and the United States of America, EU US Summit 2007: Framework for advancing transatlantic economic integration between the European Union and the United States of America.
Joint Declaration: The European Union and the United States Initiative to Enhance Transatlantic Economic Integration and Growth (2004)
European Parliament
Welle : new focus on forging links with US regulatory agencies / Europolitics, 19 Feb. 2013
European Parliament resolution on the EU-US Summit of 28 November 2011
European Commission
European Union and United States to launch negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership / DG Trade, 13 February 2013
Both parties will now envisage starting internal procedures leading to the actual launch of negotiations at the earliest possible moment. On the EU side, the European Commission will present draft negotiating directives to Council, on which the latter has to decide. This is scheduled to take place towards the second half of March. The US administration plans to send a notification to Congress triggering a 90-day layover period. Both sides aim to advance fast once negotiations are started.
EU Statement on WTO Trade Policy Review of the United States / Angelos PANGRATIS, Ambassador of the EU to the WTO, 18-20 December 2012
Obama II: Moving forward on EU-US free trade / By Sarah Reinheimer, BEPA (Bureau of European Policy Advisers) monthly brief, November 2012 – Issue 60
Public consultation on the future of EU-US trade and economic relations
EU Background paper for the EU-US summit, Washington, 28 November 2011
Market Access Database where data on Trade Barriers with the United States are available in the Trade Barriers Database
Think Tank comments
Crafting a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: What Can Be Done / Jeffrey J. Schott and Cathleen Cimino, Peterson Institute, Policy Brief, Nr. 13 – 8, March 2013
Compares Provisions in a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the Korea FTA and gives advice for the TTIP
Don’t Buy the Hype on the Transatlantic Trade Deal / Uri Dadush, Carnegie Endowment, March 18, 2013
Uri Dadush, former director of international trade at the World Bank, warns that expectations are dangerously high. Reaching an agreement is likely to take much longer and produce significantly smaller gains than the optimistic calculations currently suggest. Beyond dashed expectations, the launch of these negotiations probably marks the final blow against the moribund Doha round of global trade talks.
A Transatlantic Agenda for Jobs and Growth / Dr. Daniel S. Hamilton, Testimony to the House Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia, Center for Transatlantic Relations, March 27, 2012
A Transatlantic Free Trade Area – A Boost to Economic Growth? / Professors Daniel S. Hamilton, Ph.D. Dr. Pedro Schwartz, New Direction, Jan. 2012
Lots of Talk, Little Action? Chances and Impediments for a New EU-U.S. Trade Agenda / Claudia Schmucker, Katharina Gnath, American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, December 6, 2011
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
Vigilance vs. Precaution: Diverging Directions in U.S. and European Technology Governance? / By Dr. Sascha Dickel, AICGS Transatlantic Perspectives, June 2011
Untapped Potential: The Future of the Transatlantic Economic Council / By Deborah Klein and Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, AICGS Transatlantic Perspectives, December 2010
Producer views
On October 31, 2012 TABD submitted its joint statement along with the Business Roundtable and ERT to the Federal Register Notice USTR-2012-0028 and to the European Commision request for comments earlier today. The submission on regulatory issues for a possible future trade agreement included an additional document: (Forging a Transatlantic Partnership for the 21st Century) that were referenced in the joint statement.
Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs leading U.S. companies, amplifies diverse business perspectives on the world’s most difficult challenges. Submission to the European Commission Directorate-General for Trade:Public Consultation on the Future of EU-U.S. Trade and Economic Relations. October 19, 2012
ERT is an informal forum bringing together up to 50 chief executives and chairmen of major multinational companies of European parentage
ERT sets out six recommendations for European standard-setting bodies and public authorities to ensure standards are treated as a crucial element of its industrial policy. (Fuel Quality Directive, NFC standard Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C), E-mobility standard)
US views
White House
Remarks by the President at Meeting with the President’s Export Council, March 12, 2013
” we’re also going to be launching an effort to lock in a EU-U.S. trade deal as well. And already, Europe is our largest trading partner — the EU as a whole — and we think that we can expand that even further. And some of this has to do with us being able to break down some existing barriers across the Atlantic to U.S. products and services, but some of it also has to do with smoothing out differences in regulatory approaches, just trade frictions that arise that are unnecessary that carries over from earlier periods. And we think just as the TPP can be an enormous boost to U.S. trade and growth that our trade with Europe can expand substantially”
Remarks by the President in the State of the Union Address, February 12, 2013
!And tonight, I’m announcing that we will launch talks on a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union — because trade that is fair and free across the Atlantic supports millions of good-paying American jobs
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is located within the Office of Management and Budget and was created by Congress with the enactment of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (PRA). OIRA carries out several important functions, including reviewing Federal regulations, reducing paperwork burdens, and overseeing policies relating to privacy, information quality, and statistical programs. Here you will find links to Executive orders concerning Regulatory Affairs, such as: Executive Order 13563 Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, 18 Jan, 2011
State Department
Remarks on U.S. & Europe: A Revitalized Global Partnership / U.S. Secretary of State Clinton, November 29, 2012 at the Brookings Institution
U.S. and EU: Facing Common Challenges / Remarks. Deborah A. McCarthy, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business AffairsSpain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce Luncheon, October 27, 2011
Trade Department
Request for Comments Concerning Proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Agreement / A Notice by the Trade Representative, Office of United States on 04/01/2013 (comment period ends May 10, 2013)Comments on Notice: U.S.-EU High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth
Obama Administration Notifies Congress of Intent to Negotiate Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, 03/20/2013
Remarks by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk at the London School of Economics and Political Science on U.S.-EU Trade Policy / US TRADE, 22 May 2012
Congress
H.Res. 76: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States and the European Union should pursue a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. February 15, 2013
Mr. PAULSEN (for himself and Mr. NEAL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
Statements on U.S. – EU Trade and Investment Negotiations / Committee of Ways and Means’ Chairman Camp & Trade Subcommittee Chairman Nunes February 13, 2013
Baucus, Hatch Outline Priorities for Potential U.S.-EU Trade Agreement / Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), February 12, 2013
Access for U.S. Agriculture Exports, Strong Intellectual Property Protection and Dispute Settlement among Finance Leaders’ Priorities
The role of the congress in shaping the US trade policy : policy briefing / Sergio NAPOLITANO (INTA Secretariat), Roberto BENDINI (supervision), Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union, Policy Department, August 2012
The impasses that have developed in multilateral negotiations have led the US to shift from a multilateral to regional and bilateral approach in trade discussions. Whether free trade agreements (FTAs) are positive or negative for the development of negotiations at multilateral level constitutes the core of current political debates. The chief objective of FTAs is to provide WTO-plus measures, expanding global trade and stimulating economic growth. To achieve this, the US has currently taken up negotiations or is contemplating to negotiate FTAs with two regions: Europe and Asia.
Congressional Research Services
Free Trade Agreements: Impact on U.S. Trade and Implications for U.S. Trade Policy / William H. Cooper, Specialist in International Trade and Finance, Congressional Research Service, April 2, 2013
U.S.-EU Trade and Economic Relations: Key Policy Issues for the 112th Congress / Raymond J. Ahearn, January 18, 2012
Greater collaboration and alignment of U.S. and EU approaches towards addressing global economic challenges, such as completing the Doha Round, dealing with China’s trade barriers, and reducing global imbalances, remain a work in progress
EU-U.S. Economic Ties: Framework, Scope, and Magnitude / Raymond J. Ahearn, December 21, 2011
As the U.S. and EU economies continue to integrate, some sectors or firms will “lose out” to increased competition and will resist the forces of change. Greater economic integration also challenges long-held notions of “sovereignty,” as national or regional policies have extraterritorial impact. Similarly, accepted understandings of “competition,” “markets,” and other economic concepts are tested as national borders dissolve with closer integration of economies.
Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation : Background and Analysis / Raymond J. Ahearn, 7 March 2011 Newer edition available through the EP Library
The differences in regulatory approaches limit an even more integrated marketplace from developing. To deal with this situation, a variety of government-to-government efforts have been created to dismantle existing regulatory barriers and to prevent new ones from emerging. These efforts fall under the rubric of transatlantic regulatory cooperation (TRC)
Producers’ views
AmCham EU’s response to the European Commission Public consultation on the future of EU-US trade and economic relations, 27 September 2012
Regulatory Cooperation and Coherence: — Regulatory Cooperation and Coherence — Common Impact Assessment procedures — Common Impact Assessment procedures
Business Round Table on the U.S.-EU High Level Working Group’s Efforts Lay a Solid Foundation for Negotiations, February 13, 2013
Coalition of Service Industries and TABD TransAtlantic Business Dialogue, 02/07/2012
The Atlantic Century II: Benchmarking EU & U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness / Robert D. Atkinson and Scott M. Andes,European American Business Council, EABC & Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, ITIF, July 2011.
Statistics
Library Statistical Spotlight: Analysis of EU-US trade / Library Briefing by Giulio Sabbati posted on 16 May 2013
The European Union and the United States (US) are the two largest economies in the world in terms of GDP and are each other’s major partners in trade of goods, services and investment. To further improve these relations the European Commission has proposed the launch of negotiations with the US on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. This paper focuses on trade between the two economies, looking at EU-US trade in goods, services and FDI, as well as showing the major global trading partners for both the EU and US.
Tempered Optimism Greets TTIP : Most stakeholders in a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership see modest agreement in force by 2016 / Bertelsmann Foundation-Atlantic Council survey, 18/04/2013
A survey of 120 stakeholders in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations reveals that 88 percent believe the US and the European Union (EU) will come to an agreement on expanding their economic ties.
The Transatlantic Economy 2013 : annual survey of jobs, trade and investment between the United States and Europe / Center for Transatlantic Relations, 13 Feb. 2013
EU-US bilateral trade 2007-2011 / DG Trade, 29 Nov. 2012
Statistical data on the EU’s economic relations with the United States / Eurostat, 2012
