SOCIETY 367 / 2015

USA
INTERVIEW
a dependable place to innovate and do business.
It really comes down to an open, yet predictable,
business environment, that affords everyone
with a good idea the opportunity to succeed.
deficits have shrunk by two-thirds while our
health care costs are flattening out for the first
time in half a century.
The United States of America is the best place
in the world to do business. We’ve got the most
skilled and productive workers, the best universities,
the most welcoming environment for startups
and the most innovative entrepreneurs anywhere.
We’re the global leader in patents – home
not only to more R&D investment than any other
country but to nearly one-third of all R&D investment
in the world. More importantly, our access
to global markets makes it easy to ship goods
made in the USA around the world. Our unwavering
commitment to the rule of law and strong
intellectual property protections make America
»The work that
our intelligence
services are
doing saves
lives.
«
Alexa
Wesner
What does the US expect from the Transatlantic
Trade and Investment Partnership with
the EU?
In June 2013, President Obama, former European
Council President Van Rompuy and former
European Commission President Barroso announced
that the United States and the European
Union would launch negotiations on the Transatlantic
Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
agreement. Since then, the US and EU have been
working together – the ninth round of negotiations
was just concluded in April in New York – to
achieve an ambitious and comprehensive trade
agreement that significantly expands trade and
investment between the United States and the
EU, increases economic growth, jobs, and international
competitiveness, without compromising
the environmental safeguards or health and safety
measures that protect consumers and workers
on both sides of the Atlantic.
It is an unprecedented effort because it is an
unprecedented opportunity for the two trading
partners that account for nearly half of the world’s
economic output to generate new business, new
jobs and new investment as well as establish
rules to address emerging global challenges and
strengthen the extraordinarily close relationship
between Europe and the United States.
How can the US restore confidence in the
work of its intelligence service after the global
surveillance disclosures concerning the NSA?
The important thing is that Austria and the
United States are partners. The work that our
intelligence services are doing saves lives. That’s
the bottom line. I have no doubt that the United
States and Austria will continue their close and
successful cooperation on security issues.
That said, we know that stories surrounding
these matters have created challenges in our relationships
with some of our closest foreign partners.
President Obama has reviewed the way that
we gather intelligence to ensure that we are properly
balancing the security concerns of our citizens
and international partners with the privacy
concerns that all people share. We are ensuring
that we are collecting information because we
need it and not just because we can. And, we are
going to continue to address these issues with our
partners in diplomatic channels.
Will there be the first female president of the
US after the forthcoming elections 2016?
That is a very interesting question. Still, at this
point, it is far too early to speculate on the outcome
of the 2016 presidential election, as there
is still more than a year to go until then. Right
now, we do not even know who all the respec- ➢
SOCIETY 1_2015 | 35