Both sides of the Atlantic are in an urgent quest for new sources of growth. The data-driven economy, and big data in particular, has the potential to transform economies and companies by raising productivity, reducing costs and facilitating new trade flows. Against the backdrop of plans for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), policy makers have the opportunity to lay a regulatory groundwork for data that will reinforce international competitiveness and enhance comparative advantage. After all, it is not without reason that data is the fastest growing category of trade between the United States and Europe.
At this timely initiative, two leading think tanks – the Progressive Policy Institute from the United States and the Lisbon Council from Europe – team up to highlight the opportunity to align policies on both sides of the Atlantic in an effort to benefit from the data revolution.
Programme:
09h00-09h30: Welcoming Coffee and Registration
09h30-11h00: Opening Plenary: Free Trade in Data: A Transatlantic Imperative
This session will focus on the growing role free trade in data plays in economic growth, including new research from the Progressive Policy Institute. Speakers will explore the opportunities for data-driven investment and growth, especially among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and examine the economic and political imperative for the United States and Europe to achieve balanced trade in data to benefit both sides of the transatlantic partnership. They also will discuss the need for government regulatory and tax policies that will both propel growth and empower consumers.
Setting the Scence: The Importance of Transatlantic Trade
Damien Levie, Head of Unit, Trade Relations with United States and Canada, DG trade, European Commission
Presentation of new research study Data, Trade and Growth
Michael Mandel, Chief Economic Strategist, Progressive Policy Institute
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Will Marshall, President, Progressive Policy Institute
Jan Philipp Albrecht, Member, Rapporteur for the General Data Protection Regulation for the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, European Parliament
Marietje Schaake, Member, Delegation for Relations with the United States, European Parliament
Bernie McKay, Chief Public Policy Officer, Vice-President, Global Corporate Affairs, Intuit
James Waterworth, Vice President, Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)
11h00-11h30: Coffee Break
11h30-13h00: High-Level Roundtable: Big Data and (Small) Companies: A Productivity Miracle in the Making
The usage and analytics of data is increasingly important for companies to make wise investment, strategy and staffing decisions. Far from being the primary domain of large multinational companies, data is particularly important for SMEs as it is emerging as one of the key drivers in productivity increases. This is particularly significant for advanced, innovation-driven economies like the United States and Europe that need to move up the global value chain if they hope to sustain their prosperity over time.
Introduction: Steven Spittaels, Associate Director, Brussels Office, McKinsey & Company
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Ann Mettler, Executive Director, the Lisbon Council
Dimitrios Droutsas, Member, Shadow Rapporteur for the General Data Protection Regulation, European Parliament
Zoran Stančič, Deputy Director-General, DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission
Andrea Colciago, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Milan Bicocca, Economist, Dutch Central Bank (DNB), Co-Author, The Impact of the Data Protection Regulation in the EU, Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)