[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 158 (Tuesday, August 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51139-51140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18716]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Public Dialogue on Enhancing the Transatlantic Economic 
Relationship

AGENCY: Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: U.S. and European leadership agreed at the U.S.-EU Summit in 
June 2004 to look at new ways to further strengthen the transatlantic 
economic relationship, calling upon all interested U.S. and EU 
stakeholders to engage in a vigorous discussion of concrete ideas on 
how to further transatlantic economic integration. Over the coming 
months, the U.S. Administration will convene a number of public 
dialogue sessions, as well as participate in conferences and meetings, 
with the business, consumer, labor, environmental and academic 
communities, and other elements of civil society in order to stimulate 
proposals for possible subsequent adoption by governments. As part of 
this process, the U.S. Administration welcomes written public input on 
ideas for deepening transatlantic economic ties.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted no later than November 15, 
2004.
    Submissions: The U.S. government strongly encourages public input 
on this initiative. To facilitate expeditious handling, the public is 
strongly encouraged to submit documents electronically rather than by 
facsimile. For any document containing business confidential 
information submitted electronically, the file name of the business 
confidential version should begin with the characters ``BC-'', and the 
file name of the public version should

[[Page 51140]]

begin with the characters ``P-''. The ``P-'' or ``BC-'' should be 
followed by the name of the submitter. Submissions by e-mail should not 
include separate cover letters; information that might appear in a 
cover letter should be included in the submission itself. To the extent 
possible, any attachments to the submission should be included in the 
same file as the submission itself, and not as separate files. 
Electronic submissions should be sent to [email protected]. 
Submissions by fax should be sent to the attention of Anita Thomas, 
Office of Europe and the Mediterranean, Office of the U.S. Trade 
Representative, at (202) 395-3974.
    Public Dialogues: Public dialogue sessions will be organized in 
several U.S. cities later this year, with locations and dates to be 
posted at the following Web site http://www.ustr.gov/World_Regions/Europe_Mediterranean/Transatlantic_Dialogue/Section Index.html. For 
information on those sessions, the public is advised to follow links to 
``Transatlantic Stakeholders'' on the Web sites of the USTR and the 
Departments of State and Commerce.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions relating to this notice 
should be addressed to Lisa Errion, Director for Central and Southeast 
Europe, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, at (202) 395-3320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Over the last 50 years, the economies of the 
United States and the European Union (EU) have become increasingly 
integrated. Today, the United States and EU share the largest bilateral 
trade and investment relationship in the world, providing jobs to 
millions of workers on each side of the Atlantic. Trade and investment 
remain at the core of the U.S.-EU relationship.
    The United States and the European Union are each other's largest 
sources of foreign direct investment, with the 2002 stock of U.S. 
direct investment in the European Union reaching $700 billion and EU 
investment in the United States reaching $850 billion. In 2003, two-way 
transatlantic trade exceeded $390 billion. The total output of U.S. 
foreign affiliates ($333 billion in 2000) in Europe and of EU 
affiliates in the United States ($301 billion) is greater than the 
total GDP of most nations. The U.S. Administration continues to look 
for new ways to give the transatlantic relationship a new impetus and 
wishes to examine cooperative means and best practices that could 
enhance economic growth, job creation, and innovation, in particular in 
the most dynamic sectors of our economies.
    Pursuant to the ``U.S.-EU Declaration on Strengthening our Economic 
Partnership'' agreed to by President Bush and his EU counterparts at 
the June 2004 US-EU Summit in Ireland, the United States welcomes and 
encourages the current lively and creative public debate on both sides 
of the Atlantic on how to enhance our already strong economic 
relationship. The Summit ``Declaration on Strengthening our Economic 
Partnership'' and White House fact sheet are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/.
    As part of its exploration of new ideas, U.S. agencies will in 
coming months convene a number of public dialogue sessions, as well as 
participate in other conferences and meetings, with the business, 
consumer, labor, environmental and academic communities, and other 
elements of civil society in order to outline proposals for possible 
adoption by governments. The U.S. government's objective is to 
stimulate concrete ideas from interested stakeholders for specific 
government actions that could enhance US-EU economic integration.
    Topics which could be explored in this regard include (but are not 
limited to):
     Where should the U.S. and EU economic relationship be in 
10 years and what steps should we take to meet these goals?
     Where are there opportunities for further and deeper 
cooperation?
     How can the U.S. and EU do more to advance competitiveness 
and innovation?
     What should be done to better mesh U.S. and EU regulatory 
approaches?
     How can we enhance transparency and public participation 
in economic policy formulation?
     What should be done to further liberalize transatlantic 
trade in services?
     How can the U.S. and EU cooperate more effectively in 
third markets, such as promoting transparency and protection of 
intellectual property rights?
     How can the U.S. and EU address remaining traditional 
market access barriers, such as tariff rates and customs procedures?

Mark Mowrey,
Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for Europe and the 
Mediterranean.
[FR Doc. 04-18716 Filed 8-16-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W4-P