Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue

Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue is a peak business association made up of high level corporate executives from the US and EU countries. TABD is a very effective and powerful player in US/EU policy discussions.
==Mission==
According to its website:
:The TABD's goal is to help establish a barrier free transatlantic market which will serve as a catalyst for global trade liberalisation and prosperity. Unified markets are needed to create a business environment which will stimulate innovation and economic growth, more investment and create new jobs.
==BEHIND THE SCENES==
The TABD is one of the world's most powerful unelected bodies - 'unique because of the 
personal involvement of CEOs (chief executive officers) working closely with the highest 
levels of government from the EU and the US. It is not an organisation, but a framework 
drawing on the resources of existing companies and associations.' This 'process' involves 100 
of the West's most influential CEOs divided into 40 issue groups which comprise one EU CEO 
paired with a US counterpart. For example, Monsanto's Robert Harness and Unilever's Huib 
Vigeveno are responsible for agri-business. The EU and US both assign a senior government 
official to each pair to facilitate discussions. The TABD meets twice a year - a CEO 
Conference in the autumn which produces a list of recommendations, the 'implementation 
table', and a Mid Year Meeting in May when officials feedback on progress, and produce a 
report which is submitted to the US President and EU Commission President, along with a 
new table. These include agenda items for the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the supra- 
national body which governs international trade relations. 
High on the agenda is implementation of an agreement to protect foreign investment - a 
resurrection of the ill-fated Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) which failed to 
materialise from secret negotiations conducted in the Organisation for Economic 
Cooperation and Development (OECD), between 1995-98. 
The Products Liability Group is promoting a measure which restricts the right of citizens to 
sue corporations for negligence such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Several of the issue groups 
seek to extend Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) measures - the 'approved once, 
accepted everywhere' principle. This dispenses with individual nations' rights to adopt their 
own regulations - on health and safety for example. If the US government or WHO Codex 
Alimentarius committee approves Monsanto's bovine growth hormone (rGBH) or genetically 
modified seeds, then other countries cannot ban their use despite concerns about the 
possible effect on health and the environment. 
The Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) offers an effective framework for enhanced 
cooperation between the transatlantic business community and the governments of the 
European Union (EU) and United States (US). It is an informal process whereby European 
and American companies and business associations develop joint EU-US trade policy 
recommendations, working together with the European Commission and US 
Administration. 
The Objective 
The aim of the TABD is to boost transatlantic trade and investment opportunities through 
the removal of costly inefficiencies caused by excessive regulation, duplication and 
differences in the EU and US regulatory systems and procedures. Additionally, the TABD 
works to identify areas where the US and the EU could enhance cooperation in meeting the 
challenges of the global marketplace.
The Origins 
In November 1995 the TABD was launched in Seville, Spain at a conference attended by 
CEOs from more than 100 US and EU companies and by top government representatives 
led by European Commissioners for Trade and for Industry and by the US Secretary of 
Commerce. It is a key part of the New Transatlantic Agenda, adopted at the 1995 Madrid 
Summit, which laid out an Action Plan to enhance economic and political relations. 
The EU-US Relationship 
The US and EU share the world's largest trading relationship - $524 billion - and the largest 
relationship, with $890 billion in cross investment. More than six million jobs are dependent 
on these investments. The strengthening of EU-US economic relations should be seen within 
the context of world-wide multilateral cooperation. The TABD fully supports the rules and 
principles of the World Trade Organisation. 
The New Transatlantic Marketplace 
One of the goals of the TABD is to contribute to the creation of a New Transatlantic 
Marketplace (NTM) permitting goods, services and capital to flow more easily across the 
Atlantic. The realisation of this goal requires the progressive removal of traditional 
transatlantic trade and investment barriers, and the TABD is contributing in a practical, 
step-by-step manner. 
CEO-Level Conference 
A conference is held each year to bring together CEOs and senior-level government 
representatives, make new recommendations and measure progress on outstanding 
problems. This unique combination of CEOs and senior government representatives 
provides an unprecedented opportunity to foster understanding and to achieve 
breakthroughs on challenging issues. Previous conferences have produced significant 
advances, including the mutual recognition and harmonisation standards; proactive 
industry leadership in electronic commerce; and the upholding of strong property 
protection, among many other achievements. 
The Working Method of the TABD 
There are more than 40 issue groups covering different sectors (eg Medical Devices, 
Telecomm Services), and horizontal issues (eg Customs, Climate Change, Intellectual 
Property). Each issue group, led by a business executive in the US and EU, is responsible for 
making joint trade recommendations and tracking their implementation. The issue 
development process remains flexible to accommodate new challenges that arise in 
transatlantic business. 
The issue groups are divided into five working groups, under the active leadership of a US 
and EU CEO and coordinating Managers. This format is designed to ensure effective 
coordination, raise visibility of the issues and maximise results. The TABD working groups 
are: 
Group I: Standards & Regulatory Policy 
Group II: Business Facilitation 
Group III: Global Issues 
Group IV: Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) 
Group V: E-Commerce 
Group III - Global Issues 
This working group promotes development of the global trading system through 
cooperative actions that stimulate strengthen the multilateral framework, particularly 
with respect to the WTO. The Group focuses on the positive benefits of transatlantic and 
global trade liberalization. The issue committees cover the WTO Agenda, Services, 
Procurement, Intellectual Property, Investment, Competition, and Climate Change. 
from TABD website (www.tabd.org/) 
==Executive board: The TransAtlantic Business Dialogue in 2005==
===Participating Companies===
====US Chairman====
*Charles Prince Chief Executive Officer Citigroup
	
====EU Chairman====
*Niall Fitzgerald Chairman, Reuters Group Plc
===The Executive Board Companies===
AIG
Bison Gear and Engineering Corporation
The Coca-Cola Company
Deloitte
The Dow Chemical Company
EDS
Ernst & Young
The Estee Lauder Companies
FedEx
General Electric
Merck and Co, Inc.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Tramco Inc.
UPS
Visa International
AstraZeneca
BASF
British Airways
BAT
Deutsche Bank
Ericsson
KPMG International
Lafarge
Philips
Renault
Repsol
SAP
SEB
Siemens
Stora Enso
Unilever
==Personnel==
*Kathryn Hauser Executive Director, U.S. Office
*Andre Belelieu Assistant Director, U.S. Office
*Cliff Grantham Executive Director, Europe Office
*David Courtnage Assistant Director, Europe Office
==Contact details==
US Office 
Phone: +1 202 775 3269
Fax: +1 202 775 3199
UK office
Phone +44 7801 038 455
Website:http://www.tabd.com/
===External links===
*Corporate Europe Observatory, "TABD in Troubled Water", October 2001.
*Corporate Europe Observatory, "TABD back on track", December 2001.
*Corporate Europe Observatory, "TABD takes up arms", May 2002.
==Notes==
Category:Corporate Lobby Groups
Category:EU Corporate Lobby GroupsCategory:Europe