Brent Scowcroft Center Chairman General James L. Jones, Jr. writes for Politico Europe on the importance of completing negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) as a means of strengthening the transatlantic alliance amidst increasing geopolitical challenges:
The United States and Europe face significant challenges. The European Union is struggling to address a wave of human migration, an auto manufacturing scandal, and the risk of losing the United Kingdom. The United States seems afflicted by partisan divisions and declining confidence in the economy. The two can help each other to meet these challenges by accelerating negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. TTIP would not only promote free trade and investment, but also strengthen the transatlantic alliance, the bedrock of Western security.
The two economies account for $35 trillion in GDP. US-EU trade tops $1 trillion annually and accounts for 15 million jobs. US businesses have invested 40 times more money in the European Union than in China. The transatlantic sphere is home to the world’s highest environmental, labor and health and safety standards. These protect consumers and result in higher quality exports.