Chamber of Commerce report urges continued investment in Europe

Europe remains the world's largest and most wealthy economy that American firms would be unwise to abandon just because of the current debt crisis, says a new study commissioned by the American Chambers of Commerce in Europe.

Europe still accounts for half of world GDP in nominal U.S. dollars and 30 percent of global consumption, says the study. And seven European countries are among the world's Top 10 for global competitiveness, and Europe accounts for 17 percent of the world's engineering degrees.

“Today, the risks and challenges before Europe are formidable,” says the report by Joseph Quinlan, a fellow at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Transatlantic Relations and the German Marshall Fund. “However, as other crises have shown, there is life after debt and a financial crisis. Europe will prove to be no exception.”

The study was unveiled Tuesday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a staunchly pro-business organization that has led the charge for less government in the United States often by decrying European statism. The American Chambers of Commerce in Europe are affiliated with the U.S. Chamber.

“In the end, notwithstanding Europe's cyclical weakness, the region's fundamentals and underlying attributes remain solid. The case for investing in Europe — and the justification for U.S. companies staying the course — remains very much intact.”