On February 14, 2012, the Paris office organized, in collaboration with Sciences-Po Paris, a launch of the report by the Transatlantic Task Force on Trade and Investment. The Transatlantic Task Force on Trade and Investment presents new and ambitious initiatives for transatlantic leadership in global economic policy. Co-chaired by Ewa Björling, the Swedish Minister for trade, this Task Force, organized by the German Marshall Fund and the European Center for International Political Economy, started its work last springand is released its final report at this event. Over the past year, a group of senior experts from America and Europe discussed how the two can forge a stronger relationship to continue to lead global trade and investment policy in the near future. Closer bilateral transatlantic economic cooperation, the Task Force argues, can promote economic growth and jobs, and at the same time spur further multilateral cooperation and trade liberalisation, thereby strengthening the WTO.

The report was presented by Bruce Stokes, Jim Kolbe and Prof. Patrick Messerlin of Sciences-Po, and members of the Task Force.  The event was moderated by Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, GMF Paris office director. Around 25 people from OECD, French and international economic and academic circles, and various embassies attended the event. Several participants agreed that the timing was good to rethink transatlantic trade and that the work provided by the task force was addressing the right questions.