On October 7th the Confederation of Danish Industries (DI) held a high level conference
on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

At their newly opened office in Industriens Hus, business leaders and decision makers met to send a message of support for the transatlantic negotiations. Ambassador Peter
Taksøe-Jensen participated in the conference sharing a view on the TTIP from a European perspective in the U.S.

Trade between the two sides of the Atlantic is already very important. On the investment side, the relationship is strong, with European companies accounting for the largest share of foreign investment in the U.S. Similarly, U.S. companies account for the greater part of foreign investment in Europe.

A New Era for EU-US Trade According to DI’s CEO Karsten Dybvad, we can move to a higher
growth path with an ambitious agreement.

“In most areas, the EU and the U.S. share a common vision of what constitutes an optimal level of consumer protection, environmental protection and corporate investment. But it is the way we achieve this level of protection through our legislation that often creates differences. If we keep the common goal in mind it is possible to find ways to regulate together, to minimize barriers that impede free trade” says DI’s CEO.

It is not only the transatlantic agreement that is at stake. It is also about the roles of the EU and the U.S. in world trade according to General Markus J. Beyrer from Business Europe.

The agreement ensures a reduction of technical barriers to trade and tariffs, a barrier that makes it extra difficult for businesses to operate in the two markets.

But “nothing is free”, as Group CEO Nils Smedegaard Andersen, AP Moller Maersk, said about a future free trade agreement. What he meant was that companies must ultimately be prepared to face the competition that comes when barriers fall. But then “cheaper goods for consumers of the world” will also be the outcome, he thought. According to DI , an agreement could increase Danish exports to the United States by 27 billion and create 15,000 new Danish jobs.