EU – US relations under pressure

The mission of our umbrella organization BusinessEurope (BE) to the United states of America at the end of September has proofed the transatlantic relationship is the strongest and most integrated in the world, but there are issues eroding the necessary trust. 

BusinessEurope's mission to Washington, DC included meetings with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Deputy Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish, Congress and business counterparts. Issues like the Airbus-Boeing dispute, our bilateral trade negotiations, China, the reform of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), sanctions and the threat of duties on cars were at the center of the discussions.

The BusinessEurope and Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic as well are worried because of the trade tensions, which are creating uncertainty and leading to decreasing investment and economic slowdown. We need to make sure that multilateral rules are respected and we have an effective way of settling disputes.

“The EU and the USA should be seeking common solutions of global problems and working together on mitigating threats for the international trade. Those two huge economies must not fight each other. We share common challenges and many common values too. We are also strong competitors but we both need a level playing field for the fair competition. Without cooperation the rules will be set by other entities and I am sure we won´t like It,” stated President of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic Mr. Jaroslav Hanak, after being informed about this BE mission.

Unfortunately few days after this visit WTO ruled the decision on the USA  – EU dispute on state subsidies for aircraft manufacturer Airbus entitling USA to impose 10% respectively 25% tariffs on aerospace industry, various industrial products and agriculture production. Parallel there is also a dispute in which EU claims US provided state subsidies to Boeing Company causing significant damage to its EU competitor. This issue rising the trade tension even more.

We hope there is still chance to find some amicable solutions later on, without adding more fuel in to the fire of trade conflicts as we know a trade war between USA an EU can´t have winners.