Trade and Investment
Perhaps the most defining feature of the global economy, the EU-US economic relationship accounts for more than 30 percent of global trade in goods and 40 percent of global trade in services.
We are each other’s main trading partners and goods and services, and together we have the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world. In 2010, bilateral trade in goods alone was worth $546 billion.
Our two economies also provide each other with our most important sources of foreign direct investment. Close to a quarter of all EU-US trade consists of transactions within firms based on their investments on either side of the Atlantic.
In fact, U.S. investment in Europe is more than three times more than in all of Asia combined.
The overall transatlantic workforce is estimated at 15 million workers—about half in the US and half in the EU—who owe their jobs directly or indirectly to companies from the other side of the Atlantic.
Despite the impact of the worldwide financial crisis and recession, the EU-US economic relationship remains on solid ground and is more important than ever.
The Transatlantic Economic Council
Established in 2007, the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) advances EU-U.S. economic integration by bringing together governments, the business community, and consumers to work on key areas where greater regulatory convergence and understanding can reap rewards on both sides of the Atlantic.
Chaired by the EU Trade Commissioner and the U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economic Affairs, the TEC offers a high-level forum to address complex areas like investment, the financial markets, mutual recognition of accounting standards, and secure trade. It provides the opportunity to defuse transatlantic trade disputes as standards are being developed, rather than after the fact.
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