7. Multilateral Action

The last EU-US Summit of June 2003 took stock of the latest progress achieved under the bilateral Positive Economic Agenda, notably the financial markets dialogue, the launch of regulatory co-operation in four priority sectors (cosmetics, automobile safety, nutritional labelling and metrology), and the conclusion of the MRA on marine safety equipment.

Close EU-US cooperation took place in preparation of the Cancun WTO ministerial meeting of September 2003. This was reflected in particular in the Eu and the US joint proposal on agriculture, that could have led to significant decreases in trade distorting domestic support and export subsidies of all kinds and to increased market access in all important markets.
In order to enhance the multilateral trading system, the EU and US shared objectives, include inter alia:
• The full implementation of WTO commitments and respect for dispute settlement obligations;
• Ambitious objectives and offers for the further opening of trade in services;
• The multilateral negotiations for the continuation of the reform process in agriculture in full conformity with Article 20 of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture;
• The intensification of forward-looking work in the WTO on trade facilitation;
• The development of common approaches in appropriate multilateral fora on investment, competition, public procurement and trade and the environment

8. EU Enlargement to strengthen transatlantic partnership
(Opinions of EU and US deputies)

The United States believes that EU enlargement will only strengthen the transatlantic partnership, the State Department's assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, E.Anthony Wayne, said on the occasion of an enlargement seminar in Washington D.C.. He outlined a few of the reasons for which the United States sees enlargement in a positive light: increased prosperity for new members and their fuller inclusion in "the mainstream of transatlantic commerce", greater diversification of EU economies, "which may provide the catalyst for revision of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy", and increased investment and market potential for American companies. However, the United States is concerned that the enlargement process might "distract the EU from its obligation to remain fully engaged with the global economy". It might also make compromise and consensus more difficult to achieve within the EU, Wayne said. From the EU side, Roderick Abbott, Deputy Director General of the European Commission's Trade Directorate General, acknowledged US concerns, but put them into perspective by explaining that the EU confronts similar issues as a result of NAFTA. Abbott stressed that despite these concerns, the overall impact on US business of enlargement was very positive, and expressed the Commission's confidence in WTO procedures to compensate the US for any loss following enlargement, "although there would not be many instance where this would be required".