The Effect of the Economy on the EU-U.S. Partnership

The European Union (EU) and United States’ strong trade and investment partnership consequently place their economies on parallel paths. Despite the possibility of failure, this transatlantic partnership is working to grow stronger.

At the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s fourth annual Transatlantic Business Works Summit, Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States, spoke about building a more resilient transatlantic partnership. He discussed the strong relationship between the EU and the United States, as well as how that relationship can impact and be impacted by the global economy.

The Economy Is Affected by the EU-U.S. Transatlantic Partnership

Lambrinidis noted the trade investment relationship between the EU and the U.S. is one of the biggest in the world. He said European companies make more profits by investing in the EU than by investing elsewhere. 

“Combined, EU companies invest in [the United States] more than any company from any other part of the world,” said Lambrindis.

Measures Have Been Taken to Build a Strong EU-U.S. Partnership

Though the EU-U.S. partnership is strong, the possibility of other markets opening up around the world as COVID-19 dissipates is something to consider in terms of how it will affect the economy. Lambrinidis said the answer to this concern is increasing national security and for both sides of the partnership to consider how Europeans will be able to purchase gas next year without Russian resources.

“[Europe has] been supported extremely strongly by this administration and by U.S. industry … when it comes to replacing Russian gas with the U.S.,” explained Lambrinidis. “This has made a remarkable difference in our ability to be able to fill our storage capacity in Europe.”

“Because our economies are so interconnected and [what] we do affects directly [what] you do [in the United States], it is very important to ensure that we do not add to the energy price crises in Europe,” Lambrinidis continued. “... We've set up how to eliminate those discriminatory provisions and the otherwise tremendously important [...] Inflation Reduction Act. If not designed, the direct obvious effect would be to take away massive investment from Europe … in a discriminatory way.”

The EU and U.S. Can Continue to Move Forward Together

Looking to the future, Lambrinidis shared insights on where the already-positive track record of trade and investment between the EU and the U.S. can be improved even further.

“There's a massive positive agenda that is unfolding at the Trade and Technology Council (TTC),” Lambrinidis noted. “And that is precisely the kind of conversation we're having there.”

Lambrinidis discussed how Europe and the U.S. need to “run faster than China,” in the sense that they need to be thinking about all of the corporations, supply chains, and innovations that will help get the EU-U.S. partnership ahead together.

“We have ignored — as Americans and Europeans — the joint power that we have to affect investment in the world, for too long,” Lambrinidis said. “And that is just too bad. We are fixing it now.”