A new EU-US free trade agreement would deliver GDP growth equivalent to providing every worker in Ireland with an extra year’s salary over the course of their career, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland.
Last week The Chamber published a paper entitled “The Transatlantic Opportunity: Why we need a Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership” and according to The Chamber, The EU-US trade relationship is the biggest in the world with around 2 billion euro of goods and services traded every day between the European Union and the United States.
“A fully comprehensive deal has the potential to increase GDP in both economies by 3.5 per cent and Ireland, as a leading economic player in the transatlantic economy will also see economic growth as a direct result of any new deal negotiated. This is a relationship that is vital to the strength of our economy, job creation and competitiveness”, said Peter Keegan, President of the American Chamber of Commerce, Ireland.
The paper was launched to coincide with the arrival in Dublin of policy makers and industry leaders from both sides of the Atlantic for preparatory talks before formal negotiations this June.
Minister for Jobs Enterprise & Innovation, Richard Bruton TD said: “The EU-US trade relationship is a key driver of economic growth and job creation on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
“Ireland is one of the top destinations in Europe for US FDI and benefits in the form of over 115,000 jobs”, according to Mr Keegan. ”Almost a third of transatlantic trade is intra-firm trade, between different subsidiaries of the same company. Making this easier and more cost-effective would make Ireland and Europe a more attractive investment prospect for US companies and make them more likely to consider investing directly in the EU to access its markets.
“Tariffs while not the primary barrier to transatlantic trade still exist albeit at a low level and the American Chamber believes it is now the appropriate time to eliminate all tariffs that exist between the EU and US,” said Keegan.
