Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- List of boxes
- Part I The economics of the European Union
- 1 Old Europe, new Europe: the role of the European Union
- 2 A dispute over origins: the European view versus the American perspective
- 3 The customs union and the diversion of trade
- 4 The Common Agricultural Policy and reforms: feeding Europe and then some
- 5 The euro: the ultimate currency reform?
- 6 The European Central Bank in action
- 7 The single market: from eliminating non-tariff barriers to enforcing competition
- 8 The single market in labor: from refugees to Schengen
- 9 The single market in capital: from Bretton Woods to Maastricht
- 10 The EU inside and out: regional policy and development aid
- 11 The EU: the other economic superpower?
- Part II The economies of Europe
- Suggestions for further reading
- Index
2 - A dispute over origins: the European view versus the American perspective
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- List of boxes
- Part I The economics of the European Union
- 1 Old Europe, new Europe: the role of the European Union
- 2 A dispute over origins: the European view versus the American perspective
- 3 The customs union and the diversion of trade
- 4 The Common Agricultural Policy and reforms: feeding Europe and then some
- 5 The euro: the ultimate currency reform?
- 6 The European Central Bank in action
- 7 The single market: from eliminating non-tariff barriers to enforcing competition
- 8 The single market in labor: from refugees to Schengen
- 9 The single market in capital: from Bretton Woods to Maastricht
- 10 The EU inside and out: regional policy and development aid
- 11 The EU: the other economic superpower?
- Part II The economies of Europe
- Suggestions for further reading
- Index
Summary
Today the leaders of both the European Union and the United States proclaim the strength of their ties and mutual support for each other's policies and values. It is certainly the case that economic relationships are deeply embedded, given the extent of trade and investment between the two economic superpowers. But conflicts arise repeatedly, sometimes leading to economic sanctions imposed as temporary surtaxes on the imports from the trading partner found guilty of violating international agreements according to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Each party feels especially aggrieved when the other does not appear to share its concern to maintain a particular policy that has been taken for granted as part of the shared heritage of the Atlantic community. Such misunderstandings and mutual exasperations date back to the origins of the European Union in the immediate aftermath of World War II. It's useful for understanding the sources of continued tension in EU–US relations to take a fresh look at the period before the creation of the European Economic Community in 1958. Over this formative period, 1945–58, both European leaders and American policy-makers laid down the foundations that set the course of development for the European Union and the individual nations that emerged from Nazi domination. On both sides of the Atlantic, key decision-makers were determined to avoid the mistakes made after the conclusion of World War I – mistakes that had led to World War II, in the opinion of most.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Economics of Europe and the European Union , pp. 22 - 40Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007