TRADE in ACTION – March 2

This week in the newsletter: After his first full month in office, US President Donald Trump made his first address to a joint-session of Congress, USTR released its 2017 trade policy agenda, and Wilbur Ross got confirmed as Commerce Secretary on Monday.  On the European side, President of the European Commission Jean- Claude Juncker released A White Paper on the Future of Europe. International: Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo got re-elected as the director- general of the World Trade Organization.

SPOTLIGHT
tweet of the week 1 March 2 2017
The Atlantic Council’s Global Business & Economics Program recently released an Econographic detailing transatlantic trade and investment. 

The United States and Europe are each other’s primary source and destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). US affiliates of companies from the EU member states produced $132 billion in goods exports in 2014. These European companies stimulate research and development (R&D) in the US, spending nearly $24 billion on R&D and accounting for 8.5 percent of the US total investment in R&D by businesses. In turn, these companies employed almost 2.6 million US workers in 2014. In addition, the US manufacturing industry is benefiting enormously from FDI inflows, as nearly 70 percent of FDI flows in 2015 and more than 40 percent of jobs at foreign-owned manufacturing firms in the US are created by investment from the EU. 

TRADE
Official Document: US 2017 Trade Policy Agenda/ 2016 Annual Report the Trade Agreements Program, Office of the President 
Speech: Remarks by President Trump in Joint Address to Congress, The White House
Speech: Creating Stability in an Uncertain World, Peter Praet, European Central Bank
Speech: Commissioner Malmström Welcomes Stakeholder Input on Ways to Protect Investment, European Commission 
Analysis: Lincoln Was Wrong on Trade, Daniel Pearson, The Hill
Opinion: Trump Threatens to Tear up the Trade Rule Book, Financial Times 
Analysis: NAFTA Under Trump—the Myths and the Possibilities, Meltzer and Bahar, Brookings
News: Minus the US, Asian Economic Powers Meet to Form Trade Deal, Bill Chappell, NPR
Analysis: Why Trump’s Trade Threats Can’t Hurt China Much- Economist, Leslie Schaffer, CNBC
News: George Osborne Warns Against Leaving EU Without Trade Deal, BBC
Opinion: Don’t Tell Trump, but a Major Global Trade Deal Just Came into Force — and the US Is a Part of It, Alejandro Reyes, Time
News: Trade Rep-NAFTA Negotiation Breakdown Could be Disastrous for Arizona, Cathy Klein, KTAR

TWEET/FACTOID OF THE WEEK
tweet of the week 2 March 2 2017
Did you know…
..that the European Union is turning sixty this month? It started out with just six members (Belgium, France, Italy , Luxembourg, Netherlands, West Germany) in 1957 and now has 28 member states. Want to know more about the future of Europe and its importance to American prosperity? Come to our free conference at the Atlantic Council on March 10, 2017 where we launch our report on the future of Europe.

GLOBALIZATION
Speech: Making Trade More Inclusive, Roberto Azevedo, World Trade Organization 
News: GE CEO Jeff Immelt Says Donald Trump Won’t Be Able to Stop Globalization, Jeff Bukhari, Fortune
Opinion: Globalization-Scapegoat for Economic Problems, Jonathan Rothwell, Gallup
Opinion: Will Globalisation Take Away Your Job? Tim Bowler, BBC
News: Qualcomm CEO-Globalization is Still ‘Good for America’, Anita Balakrishnan, CNBC

WHAT WE ARE READING
Op-Ed: Trump Team Must Recognize Value of Strong Relationship with EU, Stuart Eizenstat, The Hill
Analysis: Juncker has “Four or Five Scenarios” in Mind for EU Integration After Brexit, Pieter Cleppe, Open Europe
Analysis: How Trump Could Affect the National Debt, James McBride, Council on Foreign Relations

UPCOMING
MEETINGS
March 6: Cecilia Malmström visits Gothenburg.  Scheduled to meet with West Swedish Chamber of Commerce and deliver a speech on “Building Bridges, Not Walls” at the University of Gothenburg
March 7: Cecilia Malmström meets with Todd McClay, Minister of Trade and for State Owned Enterprises of New Zealand
March 17-18: Meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Baden-Baden, Germany July 7-8: G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany

EVENTS
March 7: US-Mexico: Trade, Security, and Prosperity 9:00AM Atlantic Council, (1030 15th Street NW Washington, DC)​​​​​
March 7: Europe’s Year of Elections: Is There a Trump Effect? 10:30 AM – 12:00PM Kenney Auditorium, Johns Hopkins University SAIS
March 10: European Economic Growth and its Importance to American Prosperity, 9:00AM- 12:15PM, Atlantic Council 
March 13: Negotiating Trade Authority: Remarks from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) on the Division of Congressional and Executive Powers 5:15 PM at the American Enterprise Institute 

Your Newsletter Team:
Marie Kasperek, Associate Director, Global Business & Economics, Atlantic Council
John Butler, Program Intern

Please send us suggested news stories, opinion pieces, publications, and upcoming events that you would like us to highlight! Email mkasperek@AtlanticCouncil.org with your ideas and suggestions.
The views expressed in this newsletter and linked external articles and content do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its sponsors.
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