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The British Journal of Politics and International Relations doi: 10.1111/j.1467-856x.2008.00351.x BJPIR: 2009 VOL 11, 94–107 Transatlantic Economic Relations in a Changing Global Political Economy: Achieving Togetherness but Missing the Bus? Michael Smith This article focuses on the changing context for transatlantic relations within the global political economy. The first part of the article identifies key areas of structural change in the GPE and in particular the potentially revolutionary shifts caused by global instability and the emergence of new economic powers. The argument then explores changing patterns of economic relations between the EU and the US, within a general framework of continuity created by the coexistence of competition and convergence. These contextual factors are then related to patterns of Atlanticism and transat- lanticism, to questions of values and identities in the GPE and to the possibility of an EU–US ‘grand strategy’ for the changing GPE. The conclusion argues that although there is perhaps more secure ground for a sustainable EU–US ‘compact’ than previously, the EU and the US may have ‘missed the bus’ in terms of jointly shaping the future of the global economy. Keywords: European Union; United States; transatlantic economy Introduction Consideration of the transatlantic political economy during the George W. Bush years has to take account of a number of important contextual factors. In the first place, the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and 2007 has meant that more than ever before, the EU–US system in economic matters is now effectively equivalent to the ‘Euro-American’ or transatlantic system (McGuire and Smith 2008, chs 1–2). Although there are and always will be variations, this is now an intercontinental relationship in ways that it never was before, with attendant challenges and opportunities. The eme