Sweden has one of the most globalised economies in the world. Our prosperity is highly dependent on keeping trade as free as possible.
Sweden’s biggest trading partner outside the EU inner market is the USA. Swedish corporate investments in the US and American investments in Sweden are also of great economic significance.
Between the EU and the US runs the world’s largest flow of trade, worth two billion euros a day. Since July 2013, negotiations have been under way between the EU and the US on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The objective of TTIP is to increase the amount of interchange between the EU and US economies on a broad front. This would boost trade, prosperity and employment on both sides of the Atlantic.
Since 2007, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise has worked actively to promote the success of these negotiations. At issue are a variety of complicated problems, and there is a pressing need for discussion of these issues, both in companies and in the public debate.
We have therefore asked writer Anders Johnson to provide an overview of the background of the discussions on transatlantic partnership. We hope it will inspire many enriching conversations on the issues.