European countries include two categories of actors: the countries joined in an economic and, hopefully, political union referred to as the European Union (28 members so far, with Croatia joining in July 2013) and the countries that are not part of this block. The latter include countries such as Norway and Switzerland, part of another economic association, and countries that have expressed their intention to join the EU in the future, candidate countries such as many of those in the Balkans.
While this paper refers to European countries as a whole, it is understandable that the largest bulk of U.S. trade is done with countries that are part of the EU, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy or France, large economies with great export and import capacities. However, with the countries in Central and Eastern Europe joining the EU in the 2000s, new markets and commercial and economic opportunities appeared for the U.S.
Looking over trade information and data, it is interesting to note that none of the first three partners for U.S. trade are European. The first three countries with which the U.S. trades are, in this order, Canada, Mexico and China
. This is understandable: with the first two, the U.S. has concluded a free trade agreement in 1994, referred to as the NAFTA, which eliminated tariff barriers and facilitated trade between the three countries. China' positioning is also understandable, with the outsourcing flows that characterize the manufacturing and service sectors in the United States.
The first European country in the list of U.S. trade partners is the United Kingdom, on fifth place, with Germany on sixth place. However, it is interesting to point out that these are all individual countries. If we add up all the European countries in the list of top thirty U.S. trade partners, these will come second, above Mexico and just below Canada.
So, the conclusion so far is that European countries remain an essential trade partner for the U.S., with the figures pointing out to a continuous commercial interaction between the parties on the two sides of the Atlantic. This paper will aim to also discuss the fact that this trend is likely to continue in the future and that commercial ties will grow in the short and medium term. There are a lot of premises in this sense, including discussions about a U.S.-EU free trade agreement, which would obviously be fundamental in boosting commercial relations.
This paper will also look at several other aspects and characteristics of U.S. trade with European countries. One aspect of interest is the structure of the U.S. trade with these countries, namely the type of products and services that are part of these commercial flows. This part of the paper is useful in determining the nature of the commercial ties, namely what are the main
At the same time, a separate part of the paper will refer to the areas of disagreement between the U.S. And Europe in the commercial field. Despite the close political and economic relations between the two entities, competition on the two markets occasionally leads to areas of disagreement between the U.S. And Europe. These disagreements are primarily in the area of non-tariff barriers, including things such as licensing, the way genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are regulated etc.
Structure and evolution of U.S. trade with European countries
Peterson had pointed out in an excellent study for the European Commission in the 2000s that the U.S.-EU economic relationship is characterized by dependencies of two different types: mutual penetration of each other's economy and institutional dependencies
. Each of these two categories is worth a separate discussion so as to better understand the nature and characteristics of the U.S. trade with Europe.
The mutual penetration places trade in the more general context of commercial and economic relations. Trade has fallen to third place when it comes to the components of the U.S.-EU commercial relationship, behind foreign investments. This aspect is relevant to show that, while trade between the two economic blocks remains important, it is no longer the most important element. The two entities have moved from the traditional bilateral trade to more complex economic ties, whereby other means of doing business are preferred.
Second, interdependency is also institutional. Both the U.S. And the EU have dedicated entities that deal with trade issues: the U.S. Trade Representative and the EU Trade Commissioner. The purpose of this paper is not to discuss the nature and strength of these entities, but it is safe to assume that the fact that both the U.S. And the EU have dedicated structures for trade facilitates an institutional dialogue that can only be beneficial to...
European Union - Business in Europe European Union * Competitive advantages of a European area in a chosen Industry and Porter's Five Forces * Personal impressions and reflections on what was learned? The European Union is made up of several countries, and all these countries have one single aim, which is to promote and develop business relationships within Europe and also with the rest of the world, in today's world of globalization. When one wishes
EUropean Union Enlargement When ten countries recently joined the 15 existing European Union (EU) member-states, the event represented the largest enlargement of the European Union in its history (Golino, 2003). One of the major perceived benefits of this union is that the countries formed an economic, political and military coalition with a combined population of 450 million people and an economy that produces approximately one-quarter of the world's annual output. The new
) of about 9000. Some critics consider the numbers to be excessive and the proposed reduction in the number of Commissioners envisaged in the Lisbon Treaty in 2007 is a tacit recognition of criticism, but the Commission itself defends the numbers by stating on its website that "...in fact it is fewer than the number of staff employed by a typical medium-sized city council in Europe" ("The European Commission.") the
The inability of some workers to comply led to absenteeism. More repressive measures were introduced, such as records of tardiness, poor workmanship and charges of sabotage against the Five-Year Plan. Violators could be shot or sent to forced labor on the Baltic Sea Canal or at the Siberian Railway. Stalin's opponents argued that this inequality was an act of betrayal of socialism, which would create a new class system
In 1957, the Treaty of Rome led to the creation of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the European Economic Community (EEC), which would become better known as the European Community. These early federations were direct predecessors of the European Union, which was formally established through the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992. The Maastricht treaty strengthened the powers of the intra-national federation and created cooperative realms of defense,
Significance of the Study This study is significant because it sheds light on a very important contributor to local and international trade. Trade fairs have a long history in providing a meeting place for buyers and sellers. They are an important channel of communication for B2B buyers and sellers. This is a significant area for study because there are limited channels of communication between B2B buyers and sellers. The previous sections
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now