Trade has come a long way since the opening of global markets started in 1947 with the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Since then, we’ve seen the creation of the World Trade Organization, North American Free Trade Agreement, European Union, ASEAN Free Trade Area, and many more agreements that liberalize the flow of goods, capital and labor on Earth.
In light of all these agreements, the “political” map of the globe is no longer the whole story. The view below is also quite relevant.
The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, recently announced by the European Union and the United States, has tremendous potential to catalyze EU and US growth, while also deepening a partnership that has done wonders to promote progress, stability and good governance over the last several decades.
Currently, the US and EU trade levels are a whopping $650 billion per year. Our combined GDP represents more than half of global GDP, and our bilateral trade and investment flows account for more than 30% of global trade. Each day, $2.7 billion in goods and services are traded bilaterally, which sustains millions of jobs on both sides of the pond.
A comprehensive Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment could liberalize a third of global trade in one fell swoop. As talks begin this summer between the two trading blocks, the time is ripe to strike while the iron is hot. Insiders are saying the political window may close in just 18 months, or as one senior American official was quoted as saying, “on one tank of gas.”
Now is the time. Let’s move ahead.
