The Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) is a body set up between the United States and European Union to direct economic cooperation between the two economies.
The Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) is a body set up between the United States and European Union to direct economic cooperation between the two economies.
The TEC was established by an agreement signed on April 30, 2007 at the White House by U.S. President George W. Bush, President of the European Council Angela Merkel (also German Chancellor) and EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso.
The Council is co-chaired by an EU and a U.S. official. Currently, they are US Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh [1] and European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis. [2] The Council meets at least once a year, called by the chairs.
The Council is tasked with helping to meet economic partnership objectives and harmonize regulations. Other priorities include: road safety, and petrol conservation, cosmetics testing (finding alternatives to animal testing), technologies, and more cooperation. However the Council has been criticised as getting bogged down in minor details and failing to produce results. [3]
At a TEC meeting on 17 December 2010 in Washington, D.C., the leaders released a U.S.-EU Transatlantic Economic Council Joint Statement committing all parties to deeper transatlantic cooperation on secure trade and supply chain security policies. [4] This was followed by an EU / United States joint statement on supply chain security signed in Brussels on 23 June 2021. [4]
European integration is the process of industrial, economic, political, legal, social and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and its policies.
A European Union Association Agreement or simply Association Agreement (AA) is a treaty between the European Union (EU), its Member States and a non-EU country that creates a framework for co-operation between them. Areas frequently covered by such agreements include the development of political, trade, social, cultural and security links. The legal basis for the conclusion of the association agreements is provided by art. 217 TFEU.
Transatlantic relations refer to the historic, cultural, political, economic and social relations between countries on both side of the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes it specifically means relationships between the Anglophone North American countries, and particular European countries or organizations, although other meanings are possible.
Although there has been a large degree of integration between European Union member states, foreign relations is still a largely intergovernmental matter, with the 27 members controlling their own relations to a large degree. However, with the Union holding more weight as a single bloc, there are at times attempts to speak with one voice, notably on trade and energy matters. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy personifies this role.
Supply chain security activities aim to enhance the security of the supply chain or value chain, the transport and logistics systems for the world's cargo and to "facilitate legitimate trade". Their objective is to combine traditional practices of supply-chain management with the security requirements driven by threats such as terrorism, piracy, and theft.
Relations between the European Union and the United States began in 1953, when US diplomats visited the European Coal and Steel Community in addition to the national governments of its six founding countries. The two parties share a good relationship which is strengthened by NATO, cooperation on trade, and shared values.
Economic Partnership Agreements are a scheme to create a free trade area (FTA) between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). They are a response to continuing criticism that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by the EU are incompatible with WTO rules. The EPAs date back to the signing of the Cotonou Agreement. The EPAs with the different regions are at different states of play. In 2016, EPAs with three African Regional Economic Communities were to be signed but faced challenges.
The European Commissioner for Trade is the member of the European Commission responsible for the European Union's common commercial policy.
The Republic of Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) have maintained a positive relationship through the years and have become more closely linked since 1991. Azerbaijan is currently part of the European Neighborhood Policy, the Eastern Partnership and the Council of Europe. The EU is the largest foreign grant donor and investor of Azerbaijan, both in the government sector and civil society making available over 600 million EURO of bilateral EU assistance since 1992.
Relations between Canada and the European Union (EU) and its forerunners date back to the 1950s. While the relationship is primarily an economic one, there are also matters of political cooperation. Canadians also use English and French — both European languages — as official and majority languages.
Brazil and the European Union established diplomatic relations in 1960. The European Union and Brazil have close historical, cultural, economic and political ties. At the 1st EU-Brazil summit, in 2007, Brazil entered in a strategic partnership with the European Union, strengthening their ties. This new relationship places Brazil high on the EU's political map.
Relations between the European Union and the Republic of India are currently defined by the 1994 EU–India Cooperation Agreement. The EU is a significant trade partner for India and the two sides have been attempting to negotiate a free trade deal since 2007. Indo-EU bilateral trade stood at US$104.3 billion in the financial year 2018–19.
European Union–Kazakhstan relations are the international relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the common foreign policy and trade relations of the European Union.
North American integration is the process of economic and political integration in North America, particularly integration of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The European Union has concluded free trade agreements (FTAs) and other agreements with a trade component with many countries worldwide and is negotiating with many others. The European Union negotiates free trade deals on behalf of all of its member states, as the member states have granted the EU has an "exclusive competence" to conclude trade agreements. Even so, member states' governments control every step of the process.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was a proposed trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, with the aim of promoting trade and multilateral economic growth. According to Karel de Gucht, European Commissioner for Trade between 2010 and 2014, the TTIP would have been the largest bilateral trade initiative ever negotiated, not only because it would have involved the two largest economic areas in the world but also "because of its potential global reach in setting an example for future partners and agreements".
The Transatlantic Business Council (TABC) is an advocacy group of more than 70 multinational corporations, headquartered in the United States or Europe. A strategic programme within the TABC is the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD). The TABC, with contact offices in Washington, D.C. and Brussels, considers itself the only officially recognized transatlantic voice of business on trade and investment issues.
New Zealand and the European Union (EU) have solid relations and increasingly see eye-to-eye on international issues. The EU-New Zealand relations are founded on a Joint Declaration on Relations and Cooperation, first agreed in 2007. It covers not just economic relations, but broader political issues and cooperation.
The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is a free trade agreement signed on 30 December 2020, between the European Union (EU), the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the United Kingdom (UK). It provisionally applied from 1 January 2021, when the Brexit transition period ended, before formally entering into force on 1 May 2021, after the ratification processes on both sides were completed: the UK Parliament ratified on 30 December 2020; the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union ratified in late April 2021.
The Trade and Technology Council (TTC) is a transatlantic political body which serves as a diplomatic forum to coordinate technology and trade policy between the United States and European Union. It is composed of ten working groups, each focusing on specific policy areas. The formation of the TTC was first announced by US President Joe Biden and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on June 15, 2021. The early agenda focused primarily on US-EU cooperation in technology, strategic sectors, market access, trade, democratic values and rule of law in the digital world, supply chain resilience, the global trade order and the EU's developing regulatory agenda like Digital Services Act, Data Act and Cloud Rules. The TTC was established under the leadership of five co-chairs – European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
