Progressive Economics Network 2025

Trump’s return to the White House causes a fast shift in global trade and the diplomatic landscape. The EU, its partners and allies need to get their response right. The European Commission is currently rolling out a competitiveness agenda and plans for economic security, but the biggest question remains: What will happen to trade? And what consequences will the trade conflict have for the economy, industries and workers? Trump raises the spectre of a full-blown trade war by imposing massive tariffs on imports.

Beyond trade, the US and the EU are likely to take different stances on China and broader global partnerships, which will impact the green transition with critical raw materials playing a crucial role. While resource-rich countries become central players, supply chains are being redrawn and geopolitical alliances will shift.

Keeping the transatlantic partnership strong

Yet, the transatlantic cooperation can’t just be written off. Progressives, in particular, have always put people first and are not looking for confrontation. The challenge is to find a common ground beyond high-level politics between parliaments, trade unions and civil society.

Therefore, on 23-24 April 2025, the Progressive Economics Network (PEN) will reconvene for a one-and-a-half-day meeting on “Trade, trust and transition – Shaping the next transatlantic chapter” in Washington, D.C., hosted at the Center for American Progress (CAP). The discussions will center around trade, the changing US-EU relations and strategic partnerships for sustainability, including three main sessions on:

• The Emerging Trade Regime: Aligning on Shared Objectives
• Guns or Butter? Balancing Priorities in the Transatlantic Relationship
• The Geoeconomics of Sustainability: Forming Strategic Partnerships

Among the confirmed speakers are:

• Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament; Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the United States
• Lina Gálvez Muñoz, Member of the European Parliament; FEPS Vice-President
• Liam Byrne, Member of Parliament, British Labour Party ; Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, United Kingdom
• Maria João Rodrigues, FEPS President
• Bodo Ellmer, Program Director for Financing for Sustainable Development, Global Policy Forum
• Isabella Weber, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

This on-site event is by invitation only. For more information, please contact our Policy Officer for Economic Policy, Marie Hasdenteufel  marie.hasdenteufel(at)fes.de.