Investment Belies U.S.-EU Trade Differences

Despite serious differences over antitrust policy, business in Cuba, and trade subsidies, the U.S. and the 15-nation European Union (EU) continue to invest heavily in each other's companies. Compared with 1996, foreign direct investment (FDI) from the EU to the U.S. more than doubled in 1997 to US$42.5 billion, with $21.1 billion in investment from the UK accounting for nearly 50% of the total, reports Eurostat, the EU's official statistics office. France ($7.7 billion) and Germany ($7.2 billion) were the second and third largest investors. FDI from the U.S. to the EU rose 42% to $24.1 billion.