As steadfast friends and with strong historical and cultural ties, the United States of America and Europe are working closely on economic agenda.
On his remarks to the Wroclaw Global Forum in Poland, Thomas Nides said the simple truth is that the people of the United States and Eastern Europe are steadfast friends.
“Look at any of the great challenges facing the world, and you’ll find Americans standing shoulder to shoulder with Europeans. Europe is our partner of first resort.” -Mr. Nides
In diplomacy, the United States and Europe have never been more closely aligne, Mr. Nides stated.
Both parties are united in our efforts to finish the business of building a Europe whole, free, and at peace.
“It’s clear that our diplomatic partnership has never been stronger.” -Mr. Nides
At the forum, Mr. Nides focused on the “economic” dimension of our work together around the world.
He says the U.S.-European economic partnership is key to everything we want to do together around the world.
Strong economies hold out the promise of successful nations. Strong economies fund strong budgets for diplomacy, development, and defense, he noted.
He stresses that the trans-Atlantic alliance must rest on a foundation of economic strength.
Together, the United States and Europe launched the most effective system for creating broad-based economic growth and stability the world has ever seen–one that welcomed Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he added.
“Today, as Europe continues to shake off the last global recession, we are invested economically and strategically in Europe’s recovery.” -Mr. Nides
He notes that economies on both sides of the Atlantic are facing fierce economic competition from more companies in more sectors in more places than ever before.
In America as well as Europe, too many people are still looking for jobs, he added.
He says too many young people are still struggling to launch careers.
“As responsible governments, we need to use everything in our toolbox including diplomacy to improve our competitiveness, strengthen our economic fundamentals, and achieve economic growth.” -Mr. Nides
He reiterates Secretary Clinton’s statement that often says that “economic strength and global leadership are fundamentally a package deal.”
The US government calls the renewed focus on economics within our foreign policy “Economic Statecraft.”
While emerging markets capture the headlines, the U.S. economic relationship with Europe remains the largest and most complex in the world, Mr. Nides stressed.
The US-Europe economic relationship is responsible for trade flows of about $3.6 billion… per day.
Transatlantic investment is directly responsible for roughly 7.1 million jobs, he reported.
However, he pointed out that there are plenty of economic opportunities left to seize.
He adds there is no reason why the United States and Europe shouldn’t have an economic relationship that is every bit as compelling as their diplomatic and security cooperation around the world.
The Polish-American Business Summit next month is a great opportunity for countries to do pursue the endeavor, Mr. Nides added.
The U.S.-European economic relationship is one of the central drivers of the world economy. To put it in perspective, the value of U.S. goods and services exports to the EU is over five times the value of our exports to China. From 2000 to 2009, over half of total U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) was in Europe.
Europe is the most important “foreign source” of jobs in America. European-owned firms in 2007 employed roughly two-thirds of the 5.5 million U.S. workers on the payrolls of all foreign firms operating in the U.S. combined. In fact, the majority of foreigners working for European-owned companies outside of the EU are Americans.
On March this year, recognizing Europe an an indispensable partner in promoting peace and prosperity, the United States is deepining and broadening its economic relationship with Europe,
The value of United States goods and services exports to the European Union is several times the value of US exports to China.
Trade flows between the United States and the EU exceed $2.7 billion per day, he added.
In 2010, U.S. Foreign Direct Investment into the EU – $1.95 trillion – was more than twice U.S. Foreign Direct Investment into any other region in the world.
Obama Administration is committed to deepen and broaden our economic relationship with Europe.
The State Department works closely in this effort with partners throughout the U.S. Government, including the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Treasury.
The US government is working with other partners in regulatory and technical agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office – as well as research institutions, many of which have developed very inventive ideas for advancing collaboration and increased trade.
The United States has established an Economic Statecraft Task Force to elevate economic and commercial diplomacy goals and to ensure that it has the right people, support tools, and engagement platforms.
The volume of U.S. agricultural exports to the EU is strong and growing. Our 2011 agricultural exports to the EU were valued at $9.5 billion, up 8.2 % from the prior year.
Every $1 billion in U.S. agricultural exports supports about 7,800 American jobs across a variety of sectors, according to USDA.
The United States looks up to Europe for new opportunities for US exporters of industrial and consumer goods, services and agriculture products – and as a place where large numbers of American companies have been operating successfully for many decades and seek new market opportunities.
Together, both US and Europe can spur multilateral liberalization in globalized world, in such fora as the G8, G20, WTO and OECD – promoting an open, transparent, and non-discriminatory trade and investment climate in third countries, Mr. Hormats stressed.
