The rising economies in Asia and South America have been hyped for many years in the US and European media. Now, finally, there is a renewed focus on transatlantic free trade because the United States and the European Union "remain the anchor of the global economy. Together, they produce more than 50 percent of the world's gross domestic product and account for almost 30 percent of global trade. Europe buys three times more U.S. products than China, and European investment in California alone is greater than all U.S. investment in China and Japan put together."

Stuart E. Eizenstat, a former deputy secretary of the Treasury, and Daniel S. Hamilton of Johns Hopkins University, describe how the new Trans-Atlantic Partnership could look like:

U.S. labor productivity growth in 2006, at 1.4%, was the lowest in more than a decade and, despite a strong business cycle, the enlarged European Union saw modest productivity gains of only 1.5% last year. (...) U.S. labor productivity slowed for the third consecutive year in 2006 and was well below that of the other two largest advanced economies in the world, Germany and Japan (2.5% in 2006). The latest productivity estimates, running up to the third quarter 2006, suggest that most of the U.S. slowdown comes from service sectors.
Within Europe, Germany displayed a significant acceleration in productivity growth (2% in 2006 compared to 1.3% in 2005) even though most of its economic recovery is likely to be cyclical. External factors in the form of improved export performance account for a substantial part of Germany's productivity recovery while the domestic sector, particular consumer expenditure, still remains weak. Nordic countries, in particular Finland (3.7%) and Sweden (2.8%), showed productivity growth well above the European average. In contrast, the productivity record of most Mediterranean countries, particularly Italy, Portugal and Spain, remains consistently weak at 0.1%, 0.3% and -0.5% respectively.

Merkel called on Europe and the United States to improve trade cooperation to withstand the challenge of Asian economies. She proposed harmonization in some areas, ranging from technical standards for patents to regulations governing financial markets. But some European officials were skeptical about the proposals.
"This is unlikely to get off the ground," said an official, who spoke on the customary condition of anonymity. "The Americans aren't keen on it, and creating a new free-trade area of sorts is way too ambitious."  Trans-Atlantic trade relations are in a fragile state after talks to reduce barriers to global commerce broke down in July. The United States and Europe have failed to agree on cuts in farm subsidies and industrial tariffs that are essential to concluding a World Trade Organization agreement on liberalization, known as the Doha round.