European and US-American business representatives support close transatlantic cooperation and have signalled their willingness to cooperate closely to help reduce trade barriers to transatlantic economic ties. The potential is vast, together the EU and USA represent 42 percent of global gross domestic product, 28 percent of worldwide exports, 34 percent of worldwide imports and they combine for 70 percent of worldwide direct investment in their respective countries. According to various studies, reducing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers between the USA and the EU could generate additional growth of up to three percent.

However, with US President Obama’s recent announcement that US-American policy will be placing a stronger focus on the Asia-Pacific region, the USA’s commitment appears rather to be moving away from Europe and towards Asia. But on closer examination a slightly different picture emerges: President Obama’s statements appear to be driven in particular by the US administration’s idea to provide the Asia-Pacific region with a security, foreign and economic policy alternative to China. China’s initial critical reactions indicate how difficult and protracted this process will be. The Chinese influence on the policies, economies and societies of the region’s countries is already vast and is increasing. And it is also not the USA but China which, as the Asian countries’ immediate geographic neighbour, will do everything to stabilise and extend its influence in the region. The current transatlantic initiative – based on far more common ground, thus making it possible to implement it far more speedily – could fit into the time gap of a lengthy intensification of transpacific relations.

Conclusion:

New trading powers and centres have appeared on the stage of the world economy. Not all of them have already found their final position or are still trying to discover their own potential. However, several of these countries are already making it unmistakably clear that they are no longer prepared to only follow the industrialised countries. They want to be taken seriously as negotiation partners on equal terms and have their own ideas on trade, social, environmental and climate policy.

The EU and its Member States should take this into consideration when they have talks with these countries on free-trade agreements or other agreements. They should concentrate on the basics, not overload the negotiations with other political issues, as well as their very own interest in a comprehensive market opening in the countries with high growth potential to focus more on boosting competition. Only then would there be a good chance that European companies, and thus also German companies, could have the same access to these growth markets in the future as competitors from other countries.

The EU and USA could not only deepen economic cooperation between both sides of the Atlantic through a new transatlantic initiative, but at the same time set a clear signal for the emerging markets: this positive effect would result in a genuine market opening, as an offer to join the “Club of Free Traders” and simultaneously as a supporter of further strengthening the WTO.