European Union–U.S. Trade and Investment Relations: Key Issues

The Congressional Research Service, a department of the Library of Congress, conducts research and analysis for Congress on a broad range of national and international policy issues. Some of the CRS work is carried out specifically for individual members of Congress or their staff and is confidential. However, there is also much CRS compiled material which is considered public but is not formally published on the CRS website.

For that reason a number of other organisations try to keep track of these publications and make them publicly available via their own websites. Currently, ESO uses the following websites to track these reports and allow access to them in ESO:

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Federation of American Scientists (FAS)

In some cases hyperlinks allows you to access all versions of a report, including the latest. Note that many reports are periodically updated.The United States and EU share a huge, dynamic, and mutually beneficial economic relationship. Not only are trade and investment ties between the two partners huge in absolute terms, but the EU share of U.S. global trade and investment
flows has remained high and relatively constant over time, despite the rise of Asian trade and investment flows. These robust commercial ties provide consumers on both sides of the Atlantic with major benefits in terms of jobs and access to capital and new technologies.

Agreements between the two partners in the past have been critical to making the world trading system more open and efficient. At the same time, the commercial relationship is subject to a number of trade disputes and disagreements that
potentially could have adverse political and economic repercussions.

Washington and Brussels currently are working to resolve a number of issues, including a dispute between the aerospace manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, and conflicts over hormone-treated beef, bio-engineered food products, and protection of geographical indicators. The Airbus-Boeing dispute involves allegations of unfair subsidization while the other disputes are rooted in different U.S.-EU approaches to regulation, as well as social preferences.

Simultaneously, the two sides have cooperated to liberalize the transatlantic air services market and are working on
harmonizing and/or liberalizing financial markets. Competition agencies in the U.S. and EU are also moving towards substantial convergence in some areas of antitrust
enforcement. A new institutional structure, the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC), was established in 2007 to advance bilateral efforts to reduce regulatory and
other barriers to trade.

Congress has taken a strong interest in many of these issues. By both proposing and passing legislation, Congress has supported the efforts of U.S. industrial and agricultural interests to gain better access to EU markets. Congress has pressured the executive branch to take a harder line against the EU in resolving some disputes, but has also cooperated with the Administration in crafting compromise solutions.

Primarily through oversight in the second session of the 110th Congress, many Members of Congress can be expected to support efforts to resolve existing disputes and to maintain an equitable sharing of the costs and benefits of the commercial relationship with the EU.

This report starts with background information and data on the commercial relationship and then discusses selective issues associated with trade in agricultural products, trade in services, and foreign direct investment. A concludin g section assesses prospects for future cooperation and conflict.

EveryCRSReport.com https://www.everycrsreport.com/

Federation of American Scientists (FAS): Congressional Research Service [CRS] Reports https://fas.org/sgp/crs/index.html

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