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 intothe changing dynamics of this
historic economic relationship.