Statement by Stefano Mallia, EESC Employers' Group President and Peter Clever, President of the EESC Transatlantic Relations Follow-up Committee

US elections: Time for a strategic upgrade of the Transatlantic relationship but we must also be ready to go it alone on key strategic issues

Brussels, 6 November 2024--Donald Trump has won the US elections and will become president for the second time. EESC Employers' Group President Stefano Mallia said that the EU and US remain key geopolitical and trading partners.

"Our relationship is grounded in the principle of reciprocity," said Mallia. "There is no room for isolationism or protectionism in today’s interconnected world, as such approaches undermine our mutual and global cooperation and economic prosperity."

The EU and the U.S. are each other's largest trading partners. EU-US bilateral trade is at historical highs, with over €1.6 trillion in 2023 and with bilateral investment stocks topping €5 trillion. The U.S. is a major source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the EU, with U.S. FDI in Europe estimated at around $3.6 trillion, while EU investment in the U.S. is approximately $3 trillion. This mutual investment strengthens economic interdependence and creates millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

For this reason, it is important to continue working on our relationship. "The imposition of tariffs on EU goods as Trump has previously suggested implementing tariffs of 10% to 20% on imports from all countries, including the EU, is a dead-end street," Mallia added, calling for a more open dialogue and a forward-looking agenda for cooperation.

The EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council (TTC) has facilitated dialogue on critical issues such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors. "The dialogue must be strengthened and upgraded," Mallia said, stressing that the EU must speed up its policy reforms, get its act together and look for the best way to find ways of cooperation with the US.

“We must also prepare for the scenario that on important matters such as climate change and Ukraine we will have to go it alone. This is a very real scenario and as such we should start working on it as the de facto new reality,” Mallia concluded.

Peter Clever, President of the EESC Transatlantic Relations Follow-up Committee and member of the Employers' Group, noted that the new 47th President of the United States of America was elected with a clear vote and must be treated with respect.

"The burdens of a common security policy that protects us from the threats of totalitarian powers must be fairly distributed," he stressed.

"NATO members in particular within the EU have a duty to significantly increase their security and defense budgets on a permanent basis. This will require great efforts and sacrifices, but these are indispensable for safeguarding freedom, democracy and human rights. The European Economic and Social Committee made this position clear and early on," he argued.

"If this fairer burden-sharing is guaranteed, this should also have a positive impact on the upcoming talks on our future economic cooperation."

Clever also insisted that strengthening transatlantic economic relations can and should be designed in such a way that the result is a win-win-win partnership for the EU, USA and Canada. "Economic strength is always the basis for political strength. Here we must talk to each other and not about each other, we must support each other and not hinder each other," he ended.

For more information, please contact:

Daniela Vincenti, Communication Adviser
daniela.vincenti@eesc.europa.eu
+32 497 412095