THIS WEEK IN TRADE
Today, September 21, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada provisionally enters into force. It has been eight years since the start of negotiations and all chapters, except for the Investment Court System, are entering into force. What next? CETA needs to pass 42 national and regional parliaments in 28 EU countries. So far only six countries have finalized the ratification (read more on Politico). 

This week, the UN General Assembly met in New York, with President Trump delivering his first UN speech, where he criticized previous multilateral trade deals and insisted that there “can be no substitute for strong, sovereign, and independent nations.” European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström is in Seoul for the ASEM trade ministers’ meeting between 50 countries in Asia and Europe today, where the talks focus on open trade and multilateralism. The OECD published their Interim Economic Outlook, asking if the short-term momentum will be sustained.

THIS WEEK IN TRADE
Brexit: What should a transition period look like? How much will the UK’s exit bill be on leaving? British PM Theresa May is expected to deliver a clarifying speech on Friday in Florence, Italy. 

SPOTLIGHT
In The Euro’s Difficult Future – Competitiveness Imbalances and the Eurozone’s North-South Divide author Luigi Bonatti, a professor of economics at the University of Trento in Italy, stresses that the existing North-South competitiveness divide creates growing tensions between member countries and fuels hostility towards European Union institutions. The paper illustrates why this competitiveness divide is structural, cannot be tackled by macroeconomic policies, and could threaten the euro’s survival.

He recommends that efforts should be made to dissipate the illusory conviction—quite diffuse in the eurozone’s South—that increasing the public deficit can be conducive to economic growth and employment. Instead, reviving sustainable growth in the vast depressed areas of Southern Europe requires a consistent set of actions aimed at improving the quality-cost effectiveness of these areas.

TRADE
Press Release: EU-Canada Trade Agreement Enters Into Force, European Commission
Infosheet: CETA Overview- The 7 Main Parts of the Agreement, European Commission
Transcript: U.S. Trade Policy Priorities: Robert Lighthizer, United States Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)
Commentary: Beneath NAFTA, U.S. and Mexican Cities Continue Their Own Diplomacy, Rachel Barker and Marek Gootman, Brookings
Brief: What the Trump Administration’s NAFTA Priorities Get Right (and Wrong) About Digital Trade, Anupam Chander, Council on Foreign Relations
News: US Trade Envoy Says NAFTA Talks Moving Quickly, Reuters  
News: USTR Considers Non-binding Dispute Settlement Mechanism in NAFTA, Megan Cassella, Politico
Opinion: Lessons from Europe for U.S. Trade Policy: Is It Time to Separate Trade Liberalization and Investment Protection?, Simon Lester, Huffpost
News: Mexico Sees ‘Elephants in the Room’ in NAFTA Talks: Minister, Reuters
Webcast: The Future of NAFTA and the State of U.S.-Mexico Relations, University of California
Blog: Live from the Mid-America Trade Tour, John Murphy, US Chamber of Commerce
Interview: How Is Italy Doing ? Three Questions to Andrea Montanino, L’Institut Montaigne
Analysis: Germany’s Trade Surplus: Causes and Effects, Heiner Flassbeck, American Affairs
Video: Competition Policy From a European Perspective: A Conversation With EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager, American Enterprise Institute
Opinion: Why Brexit Will Spur EU-level Regulation in Banking, Securities—and Ultimately Fintech, Chris Brummer
Opinion: What Chlorinated Chicken Tells Us About Brexit, Samuel Lowe, UK Trade Forum
Analysis: CFIUS, Chinese Investment, and How to Improve Both, Derek Scissors, American Enterprise Institute
Presentation: “Five Trade Fallacies”, Jeffrey Frankel, American Enterprise Institute

TWEET/FACTOID OF THE WEEK

How does CETA impact your (European) hometown? Check out this interesting infographic to find out more.

Did you know……that the German Oktoberfest actually mostly takes place in September? Oktoberfest 2017 officially kicked off on September 16 and will run through October 3. The festival has a huge economic output all of its own, driving hotel stays, restaurant sales, brewery receipts and 12,000 jobs. Six Munich-based brewers supply the festival with the 7-8 million litres of beer. More on the Oktoberfest economy here.

GLOBALIZATION
Report: The Gender Wage Gap Just Shrank For the First Time In a Decade, Danielle Paquette, Washington Post 
Poll: Poll: Globalization Supporters in US Outnumber Opponents by Nearly 2-to-1 Margin, Rebecca Savransky, The Hill 
News: Brexit Is an Example of Deglobalisation, Says Carney, Chris Giles, Financial Times
Opinion: Three Radical Ideas to Transform the Post-Crisis Economy, Martin Sandbu, Financial Times
Commentary: Regulators Without Borders, Mark Scott, Politico
Commentary: What the Global Workforce Stands to Gain From Automation, Nick Eubanks, Huffpost
Opinion: Gazprom: Double Standards in EU Antitrust Law, Alan Riley, Center for European Policy Analysis
News: The Fed, a Decade After the Crisis, Is About to Embark on the Great Unwinding, Nick Timiraos, Wall Street Journal
Forum: It Takes Two To Tango: Trade & Social Protection Policies, OECD
News: Britain Moves Up Global Manufacturing Rankings Despite Brexit Uncertainty, Joseph Flaig, Institution of Mechanical Engineers

WHAT WE ARE READING
Analysis: The German Election and Donald Trump, Dominik Tolksdorf, Foreign Affairs
Opinion: The Danger of Forsaking America’s Civil Service, Brian O’Toole, The Hill 
Opinion: Berlin’s Balancing Act- Merkel Needs Trump—But Also Needs to Keep Her Distance, Stefan Theil, Foreign Affairs
Analysis: Can Merkel and Macron Deliver a Franco-German Plan for Europe?, Pierre Vimont, Carnegie Europe
Report: Managing Unpredictability: Transatlantic Relations in the Trump Era, Mika Aaltola and Bart Gaens, Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Analysis: An America First President Addresses the United Nations, The Economist
Survey: Wall Street vs. The Regulators: Public Attitudes on Banks, Financial Regulation, Consumer Finance, and the Federal Reserve, Emily Ekins, CATO Institute 
Brief: How Strong a Brexit Card is Britain’s Money?, John Springford, Centre for European Reform 
Opinion: Britain’s Global Ambitions Remain Tied to Europe, Financial Times
News: China Considers Opening Up to Foreign Electric Carmakers, Ying Tian, Yan Zhang, Elisabeth Behrmann, and Keith Naughton, Bloomberg
News: Ukraine Taps Market for $2.5bn With 15-Year Bond Issue, Kate Allen, Financial Times
Commentary: Iran Nuclear Deal Critics Push Plan for ‘Global Economic Embargo’, Jana Winter and Dan De Luce, Foreign Policy

UPCOMING EVENTS
September 21: Investment Plan for Europe – A Status Update, European American Chamber of Commerce, European American Chamber of Commerce
September 21: The Future of NAFTA and the State of U.S.-Mexico Relations, Progressive Policy Institute
September 25: International Trade Policy: A Conversation With Representative Sander Levin, Council on Foreign Relations
September 27: Author, Kelsey Timmerman on Globalization and Sustainability, Illinois State University 
October 3: Smart Cities & Smart Buildings: The Future of Commercial RE in the U.S. and Across Europe, European American Chamber of Commerce
October 17: Global Services Summit: Charting the Course For Growth, Coalition of Services Industries 
October 19: EconNet: A New Dilemma: Capital Controls and Monetary Policy in Sudden Stop Economies, Inter-American Development Bank
November 1: US Immigration & Labor Update: How to Manage the New Challenges for Business Immigration & Employment in the United States, European American Chamber of Commerce
November 9: WEBINAR: Selling Food into the European Union: What you Need to Know as a US Company, European American Chamber of Commerce

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