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On November 14, GMF hosted a breakfast discussion entitled "Fostering a transatlantic economic partnership: Opportunities and challenges for the Transatlantic Economic Council," with Angelos Pangratis, deputy head of the delegation of the European Commission to the United States; John Cobau, director for international trade at the National Security Council; Kathryn Hauser, U.S. executive director of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue; and Bernhard Welschke, president of the Representative of German Industry and Trade. The event was moderated by Richard Salt, GMF transatlantic fellow. The event aimed to outline the results of the first meeting of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) on November 9, 2007, and address upcoming challenges and opportunities for the TEC.

Angelos Pangratis stressed the two main purposes of a more integrated transatlantic marketplace, as suggested by U.S. President George Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and European Commission President Manuel Barroso in April 2007, which are to keep the transatlantic economy competitive and be able to more effectively address global challenges. In previous years, the United States and Europe, as the most influential regulatory powers, had often fought over standards and put in place rules without consulting each other, thereby obstructing transatlantic trade flows. According to Pangratis, the new transatlantic framework proves that a change in attitude towards regulatory processes has taken place on both sides of the Atlantic. The two trading partners have understood that competitive regulatory approaches may restrict rather than foster economic growth and that common standards are needed in order to stay competitive in the global economy. The TEC, whose purpose is to oversee and guide the work of legislators and regulators between U.S.-EU summits, now presents the opportunity to improve cooperation between regulators from the EU and the United States as well as provide the political will needed to solve disputes that are difficult to address at a bureaucratic level.

Confirming Pangratis' notion of a change in attitude toward transatlantic economic cooperation, Kathryn Hauser said the distinctive aspect differentiating the TEC from past efforts is the extensive process of consultation that not only includes the private sector, but has also raised the profile of consumer group interests and legislators during the discussions. While members of the European Parliament have always been intimately involved in and represented at recent U.S.-EU Summits through the Transatlantic Legislative Dialogue (TLD), it has been difficult to raise interest in transatlantic economic integration on Capitol Hill. One of the reasons for the disinterest in the TLD on the American side has been the fact that it is housed under the jurisdiction of the House Foreign Relations Committee, which in itself does not necessarily focus on economic issues. However, the current leader of the TLD, Shelley Berkeley, a former member of the House Ways and Means Committee, understands the importance of having Congress at the table during these discussions and has significantly increased her outreach to other members of Congress in order to stress the importance of greater economic cooperation between the United States and Europe.

John Cobau highlighted the strong commitment of the White House to improve transatlantic economic cooperation and argued a new understanding of how U.S. and European regulators cooperate. According to Cobau, some of the specific issues where one can already see progress due to closer cooperation include the areas of secure trade and orphan drugs. Regarding secure trade he pointed out that the U.S. government and the European Commission have agreed to develop effective and mutually acceptable solutions to secure cargo trade. With this in mind, they have agreed on a joint roadmap setting out the key performance-based stages required to reach mutual recognition of U.S. and EU Customs-Trade partnership programs in 2009. For simplifying approval procedures for orphan drugs, Cobau stressed that the TEC reached an agreement on a common format for data submission to the Food and Drug Administration and the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products for orphan drug designations, significantly simplifying the application process for orphan drug designation in both jurisdictions.

Bernhard Welschke talked in more detail about substantive priorities for the business community between now and the next TEC meeting in the spring of 2008. According to him, the harmonization of accounting standards, secure trade, and issues related to patent recognition and intellectual property rights are of highest importance for the European private sector. Moreover, Welschke recognized the importance of the newly established Investment Dialogue, aimed at reducing barriers to transatlantic investment and promoting global investment. In his opinion, one of the main goals of this new forum is to ensure that financial markets remain as open as possible despite recent concerns about the rise of sovereign wealth funds and their impact on both global markets as well as a host country's politics. Finally, Welschke stressed the need for improved and more transparent impact assessments aimed at measuring the economic impact of new regulation on trade and investment.

Following the presentations, the audience of diplomats, think tank, and private sector representatives had the opportunity to ask questions and further discuss the importance of the TEC. The discussion centered on the aspect of the U.S.-EU relationship and their outreach to third countries, the question of how to measure the success of the TEC, and how its longer term strategy might be influenced by new administrations in the United States and Europe. Cobau, in particular, highlighted the importance of being able to show that the TEC could deliver tangible results, if support were to be maintained over the long run.