Foreign Affairs
As major world powers, the EU and the U.S. share global responsibilities and work together to promote common values, including peace, freedom, and the rule of law; create conditions for harmonious economic development worldwide; advance the stability of international trade, financial, and monetary systems; and strengthen the economies of developing countries and those in transition. Together, the EU and the US provide about 65 percent of official development assistance worldwide.
Trade and the Economy
The EU-U.S. economic partnership is the single most important driver of global economic growth, trade, and prosperity. The EU and U.S. account for almost 30 percent of global merchandise trade, close to 40 percent of world trade in services, and about half of global GDP. The EU and the U.S. are each other’s main trading partners in goods and services and account for the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world. The transatlantic economic relationship creates and sustains close to 15 million jobs in the EU and the US. These jobs result from transatlantic trade in goods and services, foreign investment, and the activities of foreign affiliates in each other’s economies.
Security and Defense
The United States is the EU’s foremost strategic partner in promoting peace and stability around the world. Every day, we work together to confront global security challenges like terrorism, nuclear weapons proliferation (including Iran), and transnational crime (such as cybercrime).
Energy, Environment and Space
The European Union and the United States share a common approach on the need to promote open, transparent, competitive, and sustainable global energy markets, and have been cooperating in the energy sector and on environmental issues for many years. Space activities have become an essential strand of transatlantic cooperation, including satellite-based navigation and Earth observation. As a tangible benefit of this cooperation, the European Union's
Copernicus program has directly contributed to disaster relief during the 2017 hurricane season.