Transatlantic Free Trade Area
Encyclopedia
The Transatlantic Free Trade Area (TAFTA) is a proposed free trade area
Free trade area
A free trade area is a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement , which eliminates tariffs, import quotas, and preferences on most goods and services traded between them. If people are also free to move between the countries, in addition to FTA, it would also be...

 between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 (and their related areas, see EFTA
European Free Trade Association
The European Free Trade Association or EFTA is a free trade organisation between four European countries that operates parallel to, and is linked to, the European Union . EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable to, or chose not to,...

 and NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...

) in reaction to the growing economic power of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. It was considered in the 1990s and again in 2007 but no firm plan has been made. Economic barriers between the two are relatively low and some efforts to ease trade have been made, such as the single sky aviation agreement (EU-US Open Skies Agreement
EU-US Open Skies Agreement
The EU–US Open Skies Agreement is an air transport agreement between the European Union and the United States. The agreement allows any airline of the European Union and any airline of the United States to fly between any point in the European Union and any point in the United States. Airlines of...

) and the establishment of the Transatlantic Economic Council
Transatlantic Economic Council
The Transatlantic Economic Council, or commonly called TEC, is a body set up between the United States and European Union to direct economic co-operation between the two economies.-Establishment and chairmanship:...

.

However economic relations are tense and there are frequent trade disputes between the two economies, many of which end up before the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...

 (see EU-US relations).

See also

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