16 October 2013

EP President Schulz: TTIP - let us use this window of opportunity wisely

The US and the EU are tied together by strong bonds, bonds of shared culture, shared values and shared interests - and bonds of friendship. We are democracies and market societies. Much more unites us than divides us. Yet, the times are changing. The world in which the transatlantic partnership emerged and prospered does not exist in the same way.

Today we are living in an increasingly multipolar world, a world in which we have to deal with more and more problems caused by interdependence, and a world in which regions, rather than states will dominate world politics.

There has been a lot of talk about the "Asian pivot". A lot of speculation that the US is shifting its focus away from the EU to Asia, that the US is becoming a Pacific power. Europeans should not ignore these developments; they reflect the current changes in the world. And we are not afraid of this either. Europe is today in a position to make its own strategic decisions, we are also in our own way, trying to work out how to best deal with the growing economic dominance of China. We are also, albeit more tacitly, engaged in the Asian pivot.

Yet, we are still each other's most important investor and trade partner. TTIP or the Free Trade Agreement is about making sure the United States and Europe remain standard makers rather than standard takers. If we do not unite behind common standards it will soon become difficult to even up-hold our own standards. Production is increasingly global and economic power is shifting towards emerging markets - this will erode the leverage of both the US and the EU to up-hold the high consumer standards our citizens expect. The TTIP will  come with many challenges but also many chances. At least, it will be built on solid ground:

• We already exchange 2 billion euros in goods and services - every day!
• We have already invested more than 2.8 trillion Euros in each other's economies.
• We already have very low tariffs.

So, what are the benefits? What the experts tell me is that:

• every European family could safe 545 Euros every year
• two million jobs will be created in the EU alone
• it could provide an additional bonus the EU's economy by €120 billion; the US economy by €90 billion; the rest of the world by €100 billion.
• on top of this it would come at no price for the taxpayer.

That's what makes this adventure worthwhile - not only for the short term economic benefits. Because long-term our 800 million citizens stand to gain more. The Trade and Investment Partnership is not only about free trade - it's about better regulation, about protecting our model of society and about shaping the future world. At the moment, we have divergent or duplicative regulatory policies in the US and the EU. This is effectively a trade barrier - one that makes it very difficult for small and medium sized enterprises to gain access to the market on the other side of the Atlantic. Cutting red tape will make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to do business. And they are the ones creating most jobs.

Full speech

AmChamEU Press Release on the launch event of its Agenda for Action 2014-2019

AmChamEU Letter to the European Council 24-25 October 2013, 21.10.13

© European Parliament