| Author (Person) | Carstens, Karen |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.43, 18.12.03, p26 |
| Publication Date | 18/12/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Karen Carstens Date: 18/12/03 ALTHOUGH it was an open secret who was going to take on the job, the new co-chairs of the beleaguered TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) have finally been confirmed. They are Douglas N. Daft, chairman and chief executive of Coca-Cola, and Niall FitzGerald, the co-chairman and CEO of Anglo-Dutch food and soap giant Unilever. Launched in 1995 and designed to help nip trade wars in the bud, the TABD had sputtered to a near standstill by last year. At talks held at June's EU-US summit in Washington, however, business leaders and policymakers pledged to relaunch the TABD - with a more pared-down focus built on the participation of a core group of CEOs, from both the services and manufacturing sectors. "We cannot take transatlantic economic ties for granted and shall play our part in identifying common global challenges and recommending appropriate responses through the direct participation of our member companies' chief executives," said FitzGerald, an Irishman, one-time communist and euro enthusiast. "It is crucial that the TABD maintains the momentum behind the multilateral approach to the trade agenda. We will encourage the EU and the US to adopt convergent policy approaches to important financial and economic issues," he added. Daft said the TABD aims to identify and eliminate "trade barriers and other obstacles that inhibit economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic and needlessly raise costs to consumers". At present, Daft and FitzGerald are in the process of setting up a "business advisory board" comprised of CEOs from a wide range of companies. It will meet for the first time in January. In addition, a larger network of expert working groups that feed into these big-shot gatherings will continue to look at more detailed sectoral issues. Regulatory convergence remains a key priority area, as does the World Trade Organization (WTO) agenda and dispute management. Backed by US Secretary of Commerce Don Evans, as well as Commissioners Pascal Lamy, trade, and Erkki Liikanen, enterprise, the two CEOs have been appointed until the end of 2005. Grant Aldonas, the US under-secretary of commerce for international trade, praised the virtue of the business dialogue in a recent visit to Brussels. "When the TABD was first kicked off it was at a time when there was no negotiation in the WTO," he said. "The goal was really to create a vehicle where businesses can have a discussion about those sorts of points and bring them to the governments. "I think we now need businesses' input on some of the broader issues that confront the US and Europe," Aldonas added. Jeffrey Werner, executive director of the TABD office in Washington, said the the organization exists only with support from both businesses and governments. "When TABD was established, it was taken a year at a time - each year we asked ourselves if there are issues we still want to pursue and each year it's always been decided "yes, let's go for another". "As long as there's support from all four sides [US and EU businesses and governments] there is support for that process, but if just one of those pillars goes, then TABD goes too." Companies that have committed to being members include UPS, FedEx, The Esteé Lauder Companies, Ernst & Young, Merck, Arcelor, BASF, Deutsche Bank, Ericsson, Lafarge, Renault, Repsol, SEB and Shell Europe and the US account for 40% of world gross domestic product and more than a third of global trade. The new co-chairs of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) have been confirmed as Douglas N. Daft and Niall FitzGerald. |
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