Home About Participating Companies Issues TEC Industry Consultation Facilitating Secure Transatlantic Trade Conference TABD Innovation Conference Healthcare 2007 EU-US Summit Media Section Past CEO Reports Economic Facts Mission Statement History Contact		TABD History - Origins TABD History Origins The CEO Conferences Relaunching the TABD Chairmen Originally the idea of the late U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) was conceived to promote closer trade ties between the United States and European Union. Brown, together with his counterparts in the European Commission, Martin Bangemann and Sir Leon Brittan, sought to encourage public input into fostering a more closely integrated transatlantic commercial marketplace. Both governments saw their business communities as a resource to provide innovative ideas into further expanding economic interaction while also reducing costly inefficiencies resulting from out-dated regulatory and legislative practices. Bangemann, Brittan and Brown sent a joint survey to over 1800 firms asking for their advice, input and commitment to the new dialogue process. Based on the responses received, Xerox Corporation and Goldman Sachs International offered to begin preparations for a wide-ranging CEO-level meeting in Seville, Spain in November 1995. The first TABD CEO Conference resulted in over 70 recommendations to the EU-US Presidential Summit held in Madrid in December 1995. The Summit resulted in the New Transatlantic Agenda (NTA), taking up not only the TABD's recommendations but also cementing the dialogue as part of the policy process. The NTA supported development of transatlantic business, consumer, labor and environmental dialogues. J¸rgen Strube of BASF and Alex Trotman of Ford assumed the Chairmanship of the TABD in 1996. Together with a broad range of companies, the Chairs created a structure of working groups and issue committees to follow through on the Seville recommendations. Since Seville, TABD CEO Conferences have been held in Chicago (1996), Rome (1997), Charlotte (1998), Berlin (1999) and Cincinnati (2000). The TABD CEO recommendations produced at these Conferences are officially submitted each year to the EU and US government leaders at the US-EU Summit.
CONTACT INFORMATION: US TABD Office +1 202 775 3251         EU TABD Office +32 (2) 238 5240