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Introduction: the big shift
Transatlantic relations, which for most intents
and purposes are perceived as the relations be-
tween the United States and Europe, have proved
to be solid and strong enough to resist the force
of periodic tensions and differences of opinion
that have arisen between the two over the last
seven decades. The outbreak of the financial cri-
sis of 2007 demonstrated not only their interde-
pendence in terms of the economic and social
hardships both suffered as a result, but also the
need to face this challenge jointly by means of a
greater level of coordination and global agree-
ments in every sphere of governance.
Economic transatlantic interdependence has
steadily deepened over the years, especially in
terms of commerce and investment involving
emerging economies (BRICS). Statistics for 2016
bear this out. Commerce between the EU and
the US not only accounts for 35 % of annual
world GDP at purchasing power parity weights,
25 % of world export trade and 30 % of world
import trade but also sustains over 15 million
jobs in the EU and the US. US direct foreign in-
vestment in Europe accounts for 60 % of total
US DFI. (Asia, in comparison, receives 16 %.)
Ties between American and European compa-
nies, international subsidiaries and banking and
financial service sectors continue to strengthen,
technology is being shared as never before and
digital connections between the US and Europe
are expanding exponentially. To this one must
add the two continents’ interwoven strategic
and political aspirations, common outlook re-
garding world order and membership in the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
This chapter, however, focuses on the sea
change in EU-US relations that has taken place
in the light of the most recent US presidential
election campaign, the exit of Barak Obama
from the White House and Donald Trump’s as-
sumption of the presidency on 20 January 2017
– a time frame during which the traditional
business-as-usual tenor of transatlantic relations
has given way to tension and uncertainty. This
period, which began with the atmosphere of
tense calm and impasse characteristic of all US
presidential campaign periods, was preceded by
a number of political developments that in one
way or another affected European interests: a
halt in negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade
and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a flare-up of
diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and Russia
over sanctions and compliance with the Minsk II
Treaty in Ukraine, the deteriorating situation in
war-torn Syria and debate regarding the future
status of Bashar al-Assad. There was, nevertheless,
The United States and Europe:
the end of an era
Vicente Palacio