Time for a Transatlantic Reset: Talking Trade at the U.S.-EU Summit

The times had been long past when U.S.-EU summits were major political events. Not only did they take place only sporadically, but they generated little interest from both heads of state and the public. While the United States and the EU were still each other’s most important trade and investment partners, the transatlantic economic partnership had seen better times. Regardless of this bleak picture, there was a small window of opportunity to breathe some new life into the transatlantic trade partnership before the U.S. presidential campaign took off in early 2012. While the U.S. public was increasingly skeptical about trade, most Americans still said that increased trade with advanced countries such as Canada, Japan, and the European Union would be good for the United States. It would take bold and unfaltering U.S.-EU leadership to revitalize transatlantic trade cooperation. The upcoming summits presented an opportunity that should not be wasted.