European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht had talks on March 26 2010 with ambassador Ron Kirk, United States trade representative, for the first time, the European Commission media office said.

De Gucht highlighted his desire to continue the fruitful transatlantic co-operation on trade policy and emphasised the strategic importance of strengthening bilateral and multilateral co-operation, according to the media statement.

The EU and the United States together account for more than half of global GDP and are each other's most important trading partner.

"In these difficult economic times, it is essential to deepen the transatlantic trade market to boost growth,"De Gucht said. "Together, we also have an opportunity to shape the challenges of globalisation. This is why I am keen to move the Doha Development Agenda forward. There is no better instrument to generate global benefits and to guard against protectionism."

The one-hour meeting was a first opportunity for both sides to lay the foundations for a productive bilateral co-operation, the statement said.

The discussions covered the full range of topics on the transatlantic trade agenda: from the multilateral trade negotiations, current bilateral trade issues and the Transatlantic Economic Council.

Trade flows across the Atlantic amount to about 1.9 billion euro every day, reaching about 700 billion euro annually. The two economies are interdependent to a high degree.

The transatlantic relationship also defines the shape of the global economy as a whole as either the EU or the US is also the largest trade and investment partner for almost all other countries in the global economy. EU-US stand together for about 53 per cent of global GDP and 31 per cent of international trade.

Total FDI stocks held in each others countries reach about 1.89 trillion euro. The overall "transatlantic workforce" is estimated at 12 to 14 million people, of which roughly half are Americans who owe their jobs directly or indirectly to EU companies.

A recent study conducted for the European Commission concludes that the GDP of the EU and US would increase by around 160 billion euro and exports would grow by 2.1 per cent and 6.1 per cent, respectively, if half of the non-tariff measures and regulatory differences were removed, the European Commission statement said.

The EU and the US co-operate on regulatory issues within the framework of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC), which was set up in 2007.

The TEC provides an additional, high level forum for giving technical processes a political push to accelerate progress in various areas, in particular regulatory co-operation, investment, intellectual property rights, innovation, secure trade and financial markets issues.