EU-US Trade Relationship

This paper aims to analyze the elements that define the trade relations between the EU and the U.S. The economic power of the two giants is overwhelming. The two large economies import, export, invest and get more foreign investment than any other country or international organization combined. The historical perspective enables the discussion of the stages of the development of the economic relations between the U.S. and the European countries after World War II, from the heyday of the economic power represented by the United States (1945-1965), through the period marking the end of the American domination (1966-1986) leading to the economic balance between the two giants (1986-present). To better understand the economic and political framework, the role of the New Transatlantic Agenda (NTA-1995), which establishes the strategy of transatlantic relations in the post-Cold War, is outlined and debated.