Obama rückt ab von „Buy American“-Klausel[en] 

Despite its declining share of world trade, the transatlantic economy between the EU and the US remains the "bedrock of the global economy," accounting for 45% of global GDP, 23% of the world's exports and 30% of global imports. 

Both sides are also each other's main trading partners. In 2007, the EU exported goods worth €261 billion to the US, while US exports to the EU amounted to €181 billion. 

Despite or maybe due to this close interdependence, trade conflicts over a variety of issues, including poultry, bananas, steel and IT, are a constant feature of the transatlantic relationship. 

In 2007, both sides set up the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) to address contentious issues before they escalate and risk being referred to the WTO. 

Criticism in Europe centres around a so-called 'Buy American' clause in the stimulus package, which was approved by the US House of Representatives last week but still awaits approval by the Senate. The clause would oblige US companies to use only domestic steel and manufacturing products in projects funded by the bill. 

European leaders presented a united front by rejecting the text, fearing it would encourage other countries to pursue a protectionist agenda too. They threatened to retaliate with similar steps or even bring the issue before the WTO if the Senate did not amend the text. 

President Obama yesterday signalled that he was not interested in provoking his European partners. "I think we need to make sure that any provisions that are in there are not going to trigger a trade war," Obama told the US TV channel ABC. "That we can't afford at a time when trade is sinking all across the globe," he said. 

However, the US president did not specify whether all rules on using public money to buy domestic goods would be deleted from the draft stimulus bill. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday strongly criticised the provision, saying "protectionism is the wrong answer" to the global economic crisis and should be avoided at all costs. 

As the world's largest exporter of manufactured goods and a major iron and steel producer, Germany would likely suffer most if the provisions were to come into effect. 

The European Commission has also warned that it "would not stand with its arms crossed" if the bill passed unchanged in Congress. "If that is the case, we will have to consider taking them to the [WTO]," Peter Power, spokesman for EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton, said yesterday. 

The European Parliament's trade committee took a similar stance, adopting a resolution on Monday that called upon the US to stay away from protectionist measures. 

A source told EurActiv that some MEPs even considered retaliatory measures, such as excluding US companies from the prestigious Nabucco pipeline project. 

German centre-right MEP and vice-chairwoman of the European Parliament's international trade committee Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl, urged the EU and the US "not to sharpen their weapons but rather leave them in the closet". 

On Monday, it was EU ambassador to the US John Bruton's turn to sound the alarm bell. In a letter to Congressional leaders and the Obama administration, Bruton said the proposed US measures would risk throwing the global economy "into a spiral of protectionism".