The European Union (EU) is the United States’ largest trading partner and our largest investment partner.  Together the U.S. and EU account for 55% of the world’s GDP and nearly 40% of global trade. The United States Government works closely with the various institutions that make up the European Union to facilitate and expand transatlantic trade and investment.  We also coordinate closely – through the Transatlantic Economic Framework and numerous other channels – on critical issues including climate change, energy security, regulatory cooperation, sanctions, and multilateral trade negotiations.

Economic Section at the U.S. Mission to the EU

The Economic Section at the U.S. Mission to the EU is responsible for day-to-day coordination with EU institutions on economic affairs.  This includes sustained engagement with 18 of the EU’s 27 Commissioners; with 21 Commission Directorates General; with 17 Committees of the European Parliament; and regularly with the officials that deal with these issues in the permanent representations of the 27 EU member states. It also requires frequent contact with the nearly 400 U.S. companies and trade associations represented in Brussels.  And, most important, it requires working closely with our Embassies in the 27 EU countries -- while policy decisions are increasingly made in Brussels, they are still very much made by the governments of the member states.  The Section is likewise in regular contact with virtually every U.S. government agency, from the Consumer Product Safety Commission to the Federal Reserve.

The Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs leads the Economic Section and is the primary advisor to the Ambassador and U.S. officials in Washington on U.S.-EU economic issues.

The Section’s staff is composed of representatives from the:

• State Department
• Department of the Treasury
• Food and Drug Administration
• Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
• The Economic Minister-Counselor also coordinates the work of other U.S. Government economic agencies assigned to the Mission, including the Department of Commerce and the Department of Agriculture.