Economy & Business

Economy & Business

The US must lead with allies or risk becoming a bystander in a reshaped international financial system. As the global economy struggles to recover from COVID-19 and rising powers like China assert economic influence, this mission is critical to the long-term prosperity of the United States and its allies. Strong collaboration between the public and private sectors can help revitalize open markets for the twenty-first century.

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Programs

At the intersection of economics, finance, and foreign policy, the GeoEconomics Center is a translation hub with the goal of helping shape a better global economic future.

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Featured Analysis

Jumpstarting the Transatlantic Partnership for Jobs and Growth

New Atlanticist Aug 11, 2025

The US-EU trade agreement is not set in stone. This presents pitfalls and opportunities.

By Charles Lichfield

The trade and tariff deal recently struck in Scotland has several important elements that are yet to be determined.
Economy & Business European Union
Jumpstarting the Transatlantic Partnership for Jobs and Growth

New Atlanticist Aug 4, 2025

Trump’s review of US membership in the IMF offers a rare chance for reform

By Martin Mühleisen

The institution needs its major shareholders aligned to tackle new challenges, and it deserves a management team qualified to lead it on this new path.
Economy & Business International Financial Institutions
Jumpstarting the Transatlantic Partnership for Jobs and Growth

New Atlanticist Aug 1, 2025

How Donald Trump remade global trade

By Josh Lipsky

The US president has smashed the system, but the speed and scale of the smashing owes to a system that had been growing increasingly brittle for years. 
Economy & Business Macroeconomics
Jumpstarting the Transatlantic Partnership for Jobs and Growth

Econographics Jul 31, 2025

Beijing extends and pretends to deal with its mountain of local government debt

By Jeremy Mark

Beijing’s three-year local debt restructuring plan fails to actually address the trillions of dollars weighing on local governments and will only cause greater problems down the road.
China Economy & Business
Jumpstarting the Transatlantic Partnership for Jobs and Growth

Econographics Aug 22, 2025

Trump’s challenges to the Fed’s independence loom over Jackson Hole Symposium

By Alisha Chhangani

As Trump tests the limits of what he can do, the credibility of the Fed—and by extension, global financial stability—is increasingly at risk.
Economy & Business Macroeconomics
Jumpstarting the Transatlantic Partnership for Jobs and Growth

New Atlanticist Jul 17, 2025

What Ancient Greece can teach the United States about defending against cyber attacks

By Carole House

Applying lessons from the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC to present-day cyber warfare is surprisingly instructive.
Cybersecurity Iran

In-Depth Research

Jumpstarting the Transatlantic Partnership for Jobs and Growth

Issue Brief Jun 6, 2025

How Japanese economic statecraft has shifted from promotion to protection

By Charles Lichfield

Japan is in a geopolitically challenging neighborhood and is witnessing the basic tenets of its foreign policy—from alignment with the United States to fostering a rules-based environment—come under unprecedented stress.
East Asia Economy & Business
Jumpstarting the Transatlantic Partnership for Jobs and Growth

Issue Brief Apr 28, 2025

Modernizing the tools of economic statecraft to meet the challenges of today

By Lesley Chavkin, Eitan Danon, Kimberly Donovan, Andrew Gallucci, and Caroline Hill

As the current administration revisits the functions and mechanics of government, near-term steps can be taken, under existing statutory authorities, to modernize how the United States uses its economic strength to combat national security threats and promote American interests.
Economy & Business Financial Crimes & Illicit Trade
Jumpstarting the Transatlantic Partnership for Jobs and Growth

Issue Brief Mar 3, 2025

Financing the future: Unlocking private capital for global infrastructure and climate goals

By Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou, Nisha Narayanan, Hung Tran

MDBs and international financial institutions alone cannot bridge the climate and development financing gaps.
Economy & Business Financial Regulation

Read the latest from the GeoEconomics Center

Econographics

Apr 22, 2026

In renegotiating the USMCA, Mexico should neither rush nor stall

By Phil Lovegren, Ernesto Stein

With the USMCA under review, Mexico faces a delicate balance: rushing risks economic harm, but delay brings uncertainty—making patience a viable fallback strategy.

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

Transcript

Apr 17, 2026

Banque de France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau: ‘Europe and America will either win together or fall together’

By Atlantic Council

At an Atlantic Council event, the French central bank governor said that the US Supreme Court tariff decision “reminds us that American checks and balances might well be alive,” but it has “reopened legal uncertainty."

Economy & Business European Union

Econographics

Apr 14, 2026

The debt comes due—but there is no one to pick up the tab

By Bart Piasecki

Many of the IMF’s latest warnings center on the fallout of the Iran war. But another key message has focused on debt: because the world has neglected fiscal consolidation for more than two decades, the time to reverse course is now.

Economy & Business Macroeconomics
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Content

Event Recap

Apr 18, 2012

Jumpstarting the Transatlantic Partnership for Jobs and Growth

By Adrienne Chuck

US Chamber President and CEO Thomas Donohue called on the transatlantic community to “make history” by taking bold policy steps to further integrate the US and European economies. At an event hosted by the Atlantic Council on April 18—on the eve of the World Bank-International Monetary Fund spring meetings—Donohue had a clear message for leaders gathering in Washington: “stop all the hand-wringing.”

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

New Atlanticist

Apr 17, 2012

How Spain Can Save Europe

By Ben Carliner

Spanish sovereign bond yields are rising again. It seems that the ECB’s long term refinancing operation has not bought as much time as was hoped. But what are the markets worried about? Is it the backsliding by Spain’s government over its fiscal deficit targets? Or is it in fact austerity itself? Market sentiment is never […]

Economy & Business European Union

Event Recap

Apr 13, 2012

Economic and Trade Implications of Russia’s World Trade Organization Accession

By Jason Harmala

The Atlantic Council hosted a discussion on April 13 covering the economic and trade implications of Russia’s accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO) with three leading public policy and business experts in the United States and Russia.

Economy & Business Russia

NATOSource

Apr 11, 2012

Afghan security forces to shrink by 80,00 after 2014 due to $4 billion drop in allied funding

By Thom Shanker and Alissa J. Rubin, the New York Times

From Thom Shanker and Alissa J. Rubin, the New York Times:  Afghanistan’s defense minister said Tuesday that his government and the international coalition paying for the war effort had agreed in principle that Afghan security forces would undergo a significant reduction

Economy & Business United States and Canada

NATOSource

Apr 10, 2012

Europe has yet to make Europeans

By Gideon Rachman, the Financial Times

From Gideon Rachman, the Financial Times:  The construction of a group identity typically takes generations. But Europe’s politicians no longer have the luxury of time.

Economy & Business European Union

Event Recap

Apr 9, 2012

The Austere Life: The Changing Nature of Europe’s Politics and Societies

By Jason Harmala

On April 9, the Global Business & Economics Program hosted a conference call with Kostas Bakoyannis and Alexis Papahelas to discuss the Greek political system and daily life under the country’s heavy austerity measures.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

NATOSource

Apr 2, 2012

Why Europe Still Matters

By Alberto R. Coll, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs:  Over the past decade it has become fashionable to write off Europe and downgrade its importance to American interests.

Economy & Business United States and Canada

NATOSource

Mar 30, 2012

Spain to cut government ministries by 17%, Foreign Ministry by 54%

By Al Goodman, CNN

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Mar 28, 2012

Draghi Rides to the Rescue

By Ben Carliner

Give Mario Draghi his due: he knows how to stop a bank run. Since the European Central Bank launched its Long Term Refinancing Operation for Eurozone banks, contagion has all but stopped in its tracks.

Economy & Business European Union

Europe After The Vote

Mar 27, 2012

Greece: An Effective Model for Europe’s Next Wave of Debt Restructuring?

By Jason Harmala

On March 27, the Global Business and Economics Program hosted a conference call with sovereign debt experts Anna Gelpern and Mitu Gulati to discuss Greece’s private debt restructuring and the possibility of other indebted Eurozone countries following in Athens’ footsteps. Anna Gelpern is a professor of law at Georgetown and American Universities, and Mitu Gulati is a professor of law at Duke University. Their analysis of what we have learned from the Greek experience, and what we should expect going forward, provided the following takeaways.

Economy & Business European Union
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Experts

Fellow

Piotr Arak

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Europe Center

Central Europe Economy & Business

Fellow

Rabah Arezki

Distinguished Fellow

Freedom and Prosperity Center

Africa Economy & Business

Expert

Defne Arslan

Senior Director

Atlantic Council Turkey Program

Economy & Business Energy & Environment

Fellow

Marino Auffant

Nonresident Senior Fellow

GeoStrategy Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Economy & Business Energy & Environment

Staff

Khalid Azim

Director, MENA Futures Lab

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Economy & Business Middle East

Executive Leadership Intensive participant

Ilker Baburoglu

CEO, MedTrade Energy & Commodities

Millennium Leadership Program

Africa Economy & Business
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Events

Flagship Event Fri, December 11, 2026 • 8:30 am ET

2026 Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics

The Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics is an annual flagship convening focused on issues at the nexus of economics, finance, foreign policy, and national security.
Digital Policy Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia European Union