Transatlantic Business Dialogue

The Transatlantic Business Council (TABC) is an advocacy group of more than 70 multinational corporations, headquartered in the United States or Europe. A strategic programme within the TABC is the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD). The TABC, with contact offices in Washington, D.C. and Brussels, considers itself the only officially recognized transatlantic voice of business on trade and investment issues.

The Transatlantic Business Council is a regular participant in ad-hoc meetings on trade related issues with the European Commission.

The TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) was established by the US government and European Union in 1995 as the official business sector advisory group for EU and US officials on trade and investment issues. The purpose of the TABD was to foster an ongoing dialogue between business and government at the highest levels. It had become clear to both governments that international business maintains a unique and indispensable perspective on trade liberalization, and that it was necessary to create an official forum that allowed these transatlantic businesses to come together in a single setting where they would be able to address their mutual concerns.

The first TABD conference was held in Seville, Spain in 1995 and concluded in the creation of working groups on standards and regulatory issues, trade liberalization, investment, and third country relations. As it was the first time that the private sector held an official role in determining EU/US public policy, the Seville conference signified a milestone in transatlantic trade relations. US Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown convened the conference along with European Commission Vice President Sir Leon Brittan and Commissioner Dr. Martin Bangemann, and it was met with enthusiasm across the transatlantic business community.

The last TABD program meeting took place in January in Davos/Switzerland in the margins of the World Economic Forum. Government guests and speakers included Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, OECD Secretary General Ángel Gurría and Michael Froman, Assistant to President Barack Obama and US Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs.

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