Nevertheless, US failure to comply with a number of World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement findings still continues to be a major EU concern. For instance, the repeal of the US FSC/ETI export-contingent tax scheme includes transitional and grandfathering provisions which have been repeatedly ruled WTO-incompatible.
The EU will continue to raise compliance concerns with the US authorities. In addition, unfair anti-dumping measures taken by the United States against the EU continue to be a major trade irritant. In over 50 anti-dumping cases and reviews since 1995, US duties have been inflated using the zeroing methodology which has already been found WTO-incompatible and is currently subject to further litigation.
The Transatlantic Economic Initiative, born from the 2005 EU-US summit, is working on promoting regulatory and standards cooperation; stimulating open and competitive capital markets; anti-money laundering and terrorist financing cooperation; spurring innovation and the development of technology; enhancing trade, travel and security; promoting energy efficiency; intellectual property rights; investment; competition policy; procurement and services.
The Transatlantic Economic Initiative brings together EU and US regulators to look at how to deal with existing regulatory barriers and trying to avoid new ones. Both sides are also trying to strike the right balance between trade and security.
The EU and the US are thetwo biggest economies in the world - accounting for a combined total of 57 percent of world GDP. They have much to gain from greater trade and investment and reducing barriers to trade. The EU and the US have by far the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world, being responsible together for about two fifths of global trade.
Trade flows across the Atlantic are running at around €1.7 billion a day. In 2003, total two-way investment amounted to over €1.5 trillion. 12-14 million jobs in the EU and US depend on transatlantic trade and investment.
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