Rebuilding Together: The Renewal of Transatlantic Leadership in the Global Economy

The global recession had raised difficult questions about the primacy of market-based democracies and their ability to lead the global economy. The transatlantic partnership had to undertake an aggressive, coordinated effort to reaffirm its leadership of the world economic order on two main fronts. First, the dramatic collapse of the financial sector demonstrated the need for strategic regulatory reform. Policymakers had to address key weaknesses in regulatory agencies, banking structure, ratings agencies, and the role of lenders of last resort. Second, monetary policy needed to return to the forefront of the transatlantic conversation. The United States and the European Union needed to act to preserve and enhance the advantages of having the world’s most powerful currencies. The reforms resulting from this far-sighted, cooperative effort would help each side of the Atlantic escape their own unique crises, as they solve their shared crisis together.