Professor of International Affairs Alan Cafruny recently presented a paper regarding the influence of trade and money on the international economic environment at a major conference held in Italy. The past decade has brought about great changes in the ways in which the United States and European nations interact economically. Many politicians and commentators have expressed the belief that due to current policies and trends, major economic confrontation between the two continents is inevitable. Cafruny traces the beginnings of the present day's looming dilemma to the policies of the New Deal. It was, however, administrative actions of the early 1970s, changes in the way the U.S. government dealt with agriculture, that caused an increase in trade tensions between the U.S. and her European allies. Since then, policies such as protectionism in the steel industry and the Bush administration's recent drive toward unilateralism have only served to intensify the dispute. Despite this, Cafruny notes that the process of Atlantic integration has been rapidly accelerating over the past 25 years and, most importantly, during the 1990s. His conclusion is that a serious trade conflict does not seem as likely because the U.S. and Europe have maintained a sense of openness and co-operation. .
The Istituto Affari Internazionali Conference on New International Challenges: Reassessing the Transatlantic Partnership is organized by the Istituto Affari Internazionali and is supported by The German Marshall Fund of the U.S., the EU Institute for Security Studies and the U.S. Embassy in Rome.
