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Transatlantic Economy News

News Archive

US-EU Match network connects American and European businesses, research institutes
2 September 2008 - CIOL News Reports
The US-EU Match network is due to launch on September 10. With the aim of helping small- and medium-sized American businesses, research institutes, and universities establish ties to their European counterparts, the new network “will significantly enhance transatlantic innovation and trade initiatives,” said Angelos Pangratis, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the United States . This new network will link up with the Enterprise Europe Network, comprised of close to 600 partner organizations in more than 40 countries. Led by a consortium of European and American businesses, the US-EU Match network will provide institutes and businesses with a range of services, including networking opportunities, training workshops, research calls for proposals. (Read More)

ANSI Teams with European Standards Organizations for Conference
20 August 2008 -Thomas Net: Industrial News Room
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is in the process of co-organizing a conference intended to support and improve "transatlantic regulatory and economic cooperation." On September 24, 2008 the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC will play host to: company "stakeholders from the private and public sectors in both the U.S. and Europe, including representatives of industry, government, standards developing organizations, conformity assessment bodies, and the scientific and technical communities." Presenters are expected to offer "a series of standards and conformity assessment case studies that highlight successes - and challenges - pertaining to market access and/or market acceptance and how the lessons learned are influencing current and future U.S.-EU trade." (Read More)

"Nanogen Announces Combination with The Elitech Group "
14 August 2008 -The Wall Street Journal Digital Network
Nanogen announced the success of a deal that would combine the San Diego based company with The Elitech Group, based is Paris.  The newly created in vitro diagnostics company is expected to produce over $150 million in revenue during the first full year of operation.  Separately, "Nanogen provides innovative, high quality diagnostic products to clinicians, physicians and researchers worldwide;" while "The Elitech Group is a high growth, profitable in vitro diagnostic company with global sales and distribution capabilities in over 100 countries."  Already a transatlantic player, "The Elitech Group acquired Wescor Inc., Utah USA to broaden its biomedical products platform and to provide a base for business expansion in the USA."  The nascent partnership is expected to become a global "provider of products in the molecular, point-of-care, clinical chemistry and microbiology diagnostics market." (Read More)

"Top 100: The Mergers and Acquisitions Wave Rolls On"
12 August 2008 -Flight International - Niall O'Keeffe
After the 2006 slump in the overall value of mergers and acquisitions between transatlantic corporations, "the value of such deals leapt from $1.8 billion to $12.6 billion [in 2007], evenly split between money going to and from Europe. The two largest deals of the year were both UK-US: General Electric spent $4.8 billion on the acquisition of the aerospace division of Smiths Group and BAE Systems invested $4.5 billion on Armor Holdings."  The aerospace and defense industry headlined the 2007 economic push.  This escalation in transatlantic economic interdependence shows the financial strength and shared economic confidence vital to the deepening of ties between the US and Europe. (Read More).

New Transatlantic Proposal on Nuclear Safeguards
4 Aug 2008 - Balkan Insight.com
The European Commission has authorized itself to negotiate widening the current agreement between the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) in a negotiation mandate it published this week.   The current agreement, which was most recently amended in 1995, was intended" to improve and strengthen the methodologies and technologies necessary for the implementation of nuclear safeguards" and "to coordinate their respective activities in support for third countries."  The new negotiations propose to widen the current framework to include cooperating on research, "development and training in the field of nuclear security, paying particular attention to training and to the coordination of the programmes that both partners implement in support for third countries." (Read More).

"BA Closes In on American Alliances"
3 August 2008 - BBC News
British Airways announced that it is optimistic of reaching an agreement for an alliance with its rival, American Airlines, in the coming weeks.  Though already partners in the One World Alliance, allowing members to share airport facilities, this agreement would "see them work much more closely to try to cut costs in areas such as technology, ticketing and administration."  However, in the past the two companies have been unable to circumvent US competition laws." (Read More).

"Russia Wants to Fight Illegal Immigration with EU, US: Envoy"
29 July 2008 - EUBusiness
"Russia wants to join with the European Union and the United States to combat illegal immigration and organised crime and is not looking to undermine NATO, Moscow's envoy to the alliance said Tuesday".  Ambassador Dmitry Rogozin stated, "What Russia foresees is the reinforcement of Europe's security architecture through a troika of the three principle actors: the European Union, United States and Russia".  Russia has criticized existing organizations such as the NATO as ineffective in solving Europe's security problems.  NATO ambassadors however have been critical of the proposal. (Read More).

"EU, U.S. 'Encouraged' by WTO Service Negotiations"
27 July 2008 - EUBusiness
"Top trade negotiators for the European Union and the United States on Saturday said they were encouraged by world trade talks on the subject of services."  Negotiations of the WTO's Doha Round include ministers from over 35 countries who have been unable to reach an agreement for the past seven years. US Trade Representative Susan Schwab stated, "Whether it was the developed countries or the developing countries' participants, this conversation about services, the first really that the ministers have had together, was a good step forward, a positive step forward". (Read More).

"Doha Trade Talks Stall over Farm Imports"
29 July 2008 - The Financial Times- Alan Beattie and Frances Williams
Talks in the World Trade Organization, yesterday, "stalled over measures permitting developing countries to protect farmers from rising imports."  Advocates of the protection of small farmers were China and India, whereas the U.S. opposed the measure seeing it as breaking up the flow of the negotiations, and France, who would like to see China open more of its sectors to foreign competition.  As a consequence of the dispute "Pascal Lamy, the World Trade Organisation director-general, last night postponed the issue of an updated ­version of the draft agreement he had circulated on Friday." (Read More).

G8 Not Going Far Enough
25 July 2008 - The Guardian - Jeffrey Sachs
According to Jeffrey Sachs, writing in the Guardian, the recent G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan missed the opportunity to make real change.  He states that many of the problems that G8 member states face are global problems, such as " high food and energy prices, and an increasingly unstable global climate and global economy, none of which they can address on their own." Among the areas in need of improvement for the G8 are "the incoherence of American leadership," and "the disconnection between global scientific expertise and politicians." In order to reduce these problems G8 members should provide proper funding.  Sachs states that "Global solutions to poverty, food production, and development of new clean energy technology will require annual investments of roughly $350bn, or 1% of GNP of the rich world," a manageable cost for such high rewards.  Sachs also accuses the G8 of neglecting potential institutional resources such as the UN and the World Bank, which could help the G8 "to implement global solutions."  While relatively vague on what the technical aspects of G8 agreements should be, he believes that they should be transparent and have clear timetables." (Read More)

EU Proposes Partial Ban on Seal Products
24 July 2008 - Deutsche Welle
"The European Commission has proposed banning products made from seals killed in inhumane ways."  If enacted this ban would most affect Canada who kills 275,000 seals annually.  Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper was opposed to the ban, but stated that in Canada seals are hunted in humane ways.  "Canada, Greenland and Namibia account for about 60 percent of the 900,000 seals hunted each year. Seals are also hunted in Iceland, Norway, Russia, and the United States as well as in EU members Britain, Finland and Sweden."  Support from the initiative came from French President Nicolas Sarkozy who was reported saying "'everything would be done' during the French presidency of the European Union to adopt a law banning imports of seal products in the EU." (Read More)

U.S., EU Need Shared Solutions for Illegal Immigration, Op-ed Argues
22 July 2008 - Stewart Baker, "Finding Solutions to a Shared Problem" - International Herald Tribune
Baker, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's assistant secretary for policy, argues that both the U.S. and the EU need to better cooperate on solutions to a rising transatlantic concern: illegal immigration. Among the new policies he advocates, both should strenuously apply the principle of rapid return, which binds nations to accept back their citizens who tried to enter another country illegally. Additionally, both need to practice better information-sharing on asylum fraud cases and develop common standards for border security technology, including biometrics. Baker highlights the importance of the EU and the U.S. coming together on this issue: "The ease of travel and the permeability of international borders will drive increased immigration - legal and illegal. Now is the time for the EU and the U.S. to begin working together to combat illegal migration while encouraging legal migration." (Read More).

New Recommendations Made by Transatlantic Business Dialogue
May 2008
The Transatlantic Business Dialogue made several recommendations in May 2008 to the Transatlantic Economic Council to strengthen transatlantic relations.  The memo details specific steps that the Counsel should take to encourage open trade.  This includes establishing an International Financial Reporting system, preventing the violation of intellectual property rights by third world countries, establishing a standard for auditing and financial market rules, and having safe and efficient borders.  It also recommends expanding the TEC's agenda to include energy efficiency, development and regulation, and increasing transparency and communication in global finance. (Read More).

"EU: U.S. Diplomats Will Need Visas if No Progress is Made on Visa Waivers for 12 EU Nations"
12 July 2008 - Associated Press
Today, the European Union threatened the United States with visa restrictions if it does not change its visa requirement policy for 12 EU states.  Though the majority of EU states are part of the American visa-waiver program, citizens from 12 EU states still require a visa to be obtained at US embassies or consulates in advance to enter the US.  "The U.S. visa waiver program, created in 1988, was originally focused on preventing illegal immigration. But since Sept. 11, 2001, the focus has shifted to security, and the program has been altered several times in hope of strengthening America's ability to prevent terrorism". (Read More).

US, EU Optimistic on Trade Talks Despite Banana Row
18 July 2008 - Reuters - Jonathan Lynn
"The top U.S. and EU trade officials expressed cautious optimism on Thursday about next week's make-or-break talks to secure an outline trade deal."  There has been much disagreement between rich and poor countries over trade and tariff issues concerning agricultural goods, threatening the success of the World Trade Organization's Doha round.  The negotiations, initiated in 2001, aim to create a "fairer world trading system and address the needs of millions of subsistence farmers in India and other developing countries", yet have faced repeated setbacks. (Read More).  

"UK & US Agree to Speed up Travel For 'Trusted People' Using Biometric IT System"
4 July 2008 - Public Technology.net
An initiative was recently launched to allow "trusted" people who travel between the US and UK to quickly pass through security. Using fingerprint, iris, or racial recognition technology at both borders will allow travelers to pass through while maintaining security. Economic Secretary Kitty Ussher stated, "We know the huge contribution that the talented people who come to work here make to our financial services sector in particular - around a quarter of senior managers in finance and business in London are born abroad." (Read More).

"U.S. and European Aerospace Leaders Agree to Greater Cooperation on Ethics, Environment "
15 July 2008 - Aerospace Industries Association
On Tuesday, representatives from aerospace companies in the United States and Europe met at the Farnborough International Airshow and "agreed to close collaboration on ethical business practices as well as efforts to improve aviation's impact on the environment."  The leaders agreed to meet at an environmental summit in Paris in the fall to continue talks.  Discussing the importance of open and fair markets, ASD Secretary-General Francois Gayet stated, "Transatlantic cooperation is essential to tackle environmental and technological challenges". (Read More)

"US, EU, Australia Partner in Facility Inspections"
11 July 2008 - Pharmaceutical Business Review
The US Department of Health and Human Services, the FDA, and their corresponding departments in Europe and Australia will coordinate their efforts to improve drug-manufacturing facilities inspections across the globe.  This move is in reaction to recent deaths and other injuries caused by unsafe products imported from abroad.  Such instances highlight the FDA's limited ability to guarantee the safety of imported pharmaceuticals, and demonstrate the need for such transatlantic cooperation. (Read More).

"US, EU quest for bio fuel behind food price hike"
8 July 2008 - CNN-IBN - Taapsi Ramchandani and Deepshikha Sharma
Rising oil prices has led an increase in demand of bio fuel in the EU and US, as countries look to become less dependent on foreign oil imports.  However, according to the World Bank, this has led to a 75% increase in commodity prices.  "The report claims that without the increase in bio fuels, global wheat and maize stocks would not have declined substantially and therefore the hike in price due to other factors would have been moderate".  The sudden increase in food prices has led to over one hundred million people falling below the poverty line.  This pressing issue will be on the agenda of the G8 summit. (Read More)

"UNITE Marriage with USW to Form Global Union"
3 July 2008 - printweek.com - Niall Magennis
Unite, the UK's largest workers union, is set to sign an agreement with UWS, the largest private sector union in the US, to form Workers Uniting.  This new union, formed in response to the pressure of lower wages from globalization, will represent over three million workers from several different countries.  This union will allow collective bargaining to be coordinated in companies operating in different countries. Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, stated, "This agreement will enable us to use our considerable resources to organise workers from new and growing sectors at home and in developing counties".  The new union is expected to have a lot of political influence, given their past donations to different political parties. (Read More).

"GAMA Welcomes US-Europe Bilateral Agreement on Aviation Safety"
1 July 2008 - AMT
On June 30 2008, a US-European Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement was signed between the FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), enhancing "air safety while reducing regulatory burdens and costs for manufacturers, operators and aviation authorities in the U.S. and Europe". This agreement fosters cooperation in areas such as "aircraft certification, environmental approvals, and maintenance". Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association stated, "We view this strategic partnership between the U.S. and the European Community as a real milestone that will advance our shared safety visions. The relationship between the U.S. and Europe has proven its resilience and continued transatlantic cooperation will increase efficiency and help bring new products to the global market more expeditiously. It's good for aviation safety and business, it's good for Europe, and it's good for the United States." (Read More).