This week, I helped chair a bipartisan meeting between members of the House Ways and Means Committee and our counterparts in the European Union (EU) to discuss enhancing the trade relationship between the U.S. and the EU’s 27 member states. 

For the past year, I’ve been pushing to prioritize a comprehensive trade agreement between the U.S. and the EU, which has the potential to boost Minnesota’s economy and help create jobs. Last summer, I led a bipartisan letter to the President with 51 of my colleagues encouraging strong trans-Atlantic ties. Just recently, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was formally initiated by the President, taking an important step forward in U.S. - EU trade negotiations. 

The transatlantic economy is the largest and most integrated in the world, comprising 50 percent of global GDP and $5 trillion in total commercial sales. The EU and U.S. account for 30 percent of world trade. Each day, $2.7 billion of goods and services are traded bilaterally.

This agreement has the potential to boost Minnesota’s economy and help create jobs. Last year alone, Minnesota exported $4 billion to the EU, making up a staggering 20 percent of our state’s total exports. More opportunities to sell our products is welcome news to the 146,000 Minnesotans whose jobs are supported by trade. 

One way Minnesota manufacturers could benefit from an enhanced trade agreement with the EU is in the arena of medical technology. Minnesota is the top U.S. source in medical instrument exports to Germany, accounting for 26 percent of all U.S. sales. Minnesota manufacturers and their employees would benefit significantly from a comprehensive trade agreement that removes the imposed tariffs and simplified regulatory processes.  

Working together with our EU partners we can enlarge investment opportunities, expand access to government procurement markets, build bridges between our regulatory approaches, and uphold our shared commitment to intellectual property protection.

A comprehensive trade and investment partnership with the EU is good for Minnesota job creators and workers, and should be welcomed in Congress as one opportunity we can all embrace.

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