Revisiting the UK and Ireland’s Transatlantic Economic Relationship with the United States in the 21st Century
Beyond Sentimental Rhetoric

Editors: Anne Groutel, Marie-Christine Pauwels, Valérie Peyronel



This book revisits the economic relationship that ties the UK and Ireland to the United States in the aftermath of the greatest economic crisis of the past fifty years. When considering recent developments to these economic links, it appears that oppositional forces are at work. On one hand, globalization and the rise of new economic powers may undermine the ties. Besides, Ireland’s and the UK’s European Union membership could also loosen their economic ties with the US. Conversely, the future Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement may well strengthen trade and investment links between the US and Europe.

Are the economic bonds between the US, the UK and Ireland waning, as some pundits purport? Or are those claims overstated? Could their economic relationship simply be going through a process of change? Although there may not be a single and straightforward answer to these questions, the authors seek to address these issues and provide insight into the changing dynamics of this historic economic relationship.

Table of contents

Front Matter
Pages i-xxiii

The UK’s and Ireland’s Economic Relationship with the United States: A ‘Living Entity’
Front Matter
Pages 1-1
Introduction
Pages 3-22
Turning the Telescope Around. The Anglo-American ‘Special’ Economic Relationship in the ‘Post-American’ World
Pages 23-55
The Irish−US Economic Relations: End of an Era or a Promising Future?
Pages 57-74
US Investment in Northern Ireland: Strategies, Incentives and Perspectives
Pages 75-91

Transatlantic Cross-Influences, Cooperation and Competition
Front Matter
Pages 93-93
The Role of Finance in US–UK Relations Today and Its Global Influence
Pages 95-119
Albion’s Global Reach: British Influences on US and EU Financial Regulation in the 1980s and the Era of the ‘Great Recession’
Pages 121-139
British and American Monetary Policies Convergence: Structural Coincidence or Transatlantic Mutual Influence?
Pages 141-163

Perspectives and Challenges
Front Matter
Pages 165-165
The USA and the UK (1970–2010): Ordinary Trading Partners?
Pages 167-183
Transatlantic Services Trade and Investment: Dynamics of and Challenges to the ‘Special Relationship’ in the Twenty-First Century
Pages 185-204
Irish-Owned Exporting Companies: Looking East, Looking South but Still Going West
Pages 205-226
Conclusion
Pages 227-229

Back Matter
Pages 231-247