Free Trans-Atlantic Trade
Let's be honest -- Doha is stuck. As if anticipating the failure of the global trade round, European Commissioner Peter Mandelson is working on bilateral agreements with Canada and India. That is all very well. But why is the U.S. off the European Union trade agenda? America could become the only NAFTA member to be excluded from the EU's bilateral trade policy.
If the trans-Atlantic Allies can't even agree on commercial issues, how can they cooperate on a host of security threats, ranging from Islamic terrorism and their sponsoring regimes in the Middle East to securing our energy supplies, dealing with illegal immigration and the rise of populist and pro-Communist governments in South America? Just think what a common U.S.-EU trade position, Latin America's two biggest investors, could do to curb the arbitrary expropriations in Bolivia and Venezuela.
And yet, although trans-Atlantic business links run deep, the U.S. and EU have no shared political-economic project. It's high time to change that and work toward a formal U.S.-EU trade agreement to forge an "Atlantic Area of Prosperity." The potential benefits are huge. A recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that trans-Atlantic trade liberalization could lead to permanent per capita income gains of up to 3.5%. That is equivalent to a full year's income during a working lifetime.
It is absurd that U.S. goods and services face obstacles in getting into the EU and vice versa because of consumer or environmental protection regulation. The same applies to technical norms. Unless the U.S. and EU agree on common standards, which would immediately be accepted by the world, the two risk being leapfrogged by such rising stars as China or India who might instead set the global benchmarks.
Little needs to be said about the French threat to classify its yoghurt industry a "strategic" sector, a glaring example of protectionism. But protectionist government procurement policies on the other side of the Atlantic are just as counterproductive. The abuse of anti-dumping measures by the U.S and the EU has not only harmed consumers. It has also provoked tit-for-tat reactions from third countries. It was embarrassing to see the EU Commission impose safeguard measures on Chinese textile imports last summer in spite of the fact that the agreement to dismantle the quotas on these products was signed in 1995.
A trans-Atlantic trade initiative fits in well with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso's priority of promoting economic reforms and improving EU competitiveness. And yet, at last month's EU-U.S. summit, the leaders missed another opportunity to lift the trans-Atlantic economic relationship to a higher level.
With the collapse of the Doha talks possibly around the corner, a free trade agreement between the world's two largest economic zones would be the next best game in town. Fears that this might become a fortress or a closed "rich man's club" are baseless. Instead, it would serve as an engine for free trade elsewhere, providing prosperity not just to the U.S. and the EU but to anyone who wishes to join. Canada and many Latin American countries would be natural partners in such a deal. Instead of the usual trans-Atlantic platitudes, this would constitute real action for a change.
Mr. Aznar is a former prime minister of Spain.
跨大西洋的自由贸易
Jose Maria Aznar
让我们实话实说吧－－多哈回合的确陷入了困境。就好像预计到了本轮全球贸易谈判会无功而返一样，欧盟贸易委员曼德尔森(Peter Mandelson)正忙著与加拿大、印度商讨签订双边协议的问题。这真是太好了。不过，为什么美国没有出现在欧盟的贸易谈判日程中呢？它很有可能会成为唯一一个被排除在欧盟双边贸易政策之外的北美自由贸易协议(NAFTA)签约国。
美国、欧盟这对跨大西洋的盟友如果在商业问题上都无法达成一致，又如何能在诸如伊斯兰恐怖主义以及他们在中东地区扶持起来的政权、确保能源供应、非法移民、以及南美亲共政府的崛起等安全问题上携手合作呢？想想看，作为拉丁美洲两个最大的投资方，美国和欧盟一旦在贸易问题上步调一致，将会对遏制玻利维亚和委内瑞拉的为所欲为行径产生怎样的影响！
然而，尽管大西洋两岸的商业联系日益紧密，美国和欧盟之间并没有制定出共同的政治经济规划。现在是时候改变这一现状了，双方应该朝著签署正式的贸易协定努力，共同构建大西洋两岸的共同繁荣。美国和欧盟都将从中受益匪浅。据经济合作与发展组织(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)最近的一项研究表明，实现跨大西洋的贸易自由化后，永久性人均收入的增幅估计最多可达3.5%。
由于存在消费者保护或环境保护方面的规定，美国的商品和服务在进入欧洲时面临著种种障碍，反之亦然，这难免显得有些荒唐。技术标准领域也存在同样的问题。除非美国和欧盟能在建立共同的标准方面取得一致（相信之后会很快被世界其他地区接受），否则它们很有可能会被中国和印度超越，将来为全球制定标准的将会是这两颗冉冉升起的新星。
法国威胁称要将其酸乳酪行业定为“战略产业”，毋庸赘述，这正是保护主义的典型表现。而大西洋另一边实行的贸易保护主义政府采购政策也一样对促进生产不利。美国和欧盟对反倾销措施的滥用伤害的不仅仅是消费者，也引来了第三国针锋相对的反应。欧盟委员会早在1995年就和中国签署了取消纺织品配额的协议，然而去年欧盟又重新对中国纺织品采取了贸易保护措施，这种出尔反尔的做法令人十分尴尬。
大西洋两岸签署自由贸易协定也非常符合欧盟委员会主席巴罗佐(Jose Manuel Barroso)的主张，即优先推动经济改革、提高欧盟竞争力。然而，在上月的欧盟美国峰会上，与会领导人再一次错过了合作的良机，没能把双边经济关系提升到一个新的高度。
多哈回合谈判看来难逃破裂的命运，因此全球两大经济体之间的双边自由贸易谈判将成为下一场重头戏。有人担心美欧的自由贸易协定会演变成贸易壁垒、抑或是外人勿入的“富人俱乐部”。这完全是没有根据的。相反，它可能会推动其他地区实现贸易的自由化，不仅为美国和欧盟带来繁荣，也让任何参与进来的国家和地区享受到同样的繁荣。在这样的自由贸易协议下，加拿大和许多拉丁美洲国家自然会成为合作伙伴。这一次不再是过去种种跨大西洋合作的老调重弹，而是一场实实在在的变革。
（编者按：本文作者Jose Maria Aznar为西班牙前任首相）
