EU - US Trade Relations and TransAtlantic Business Dialogue

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EU - US Trade Relations and TransAtlantic
Business Dialogue

• Peter Rush
• Chief Executive Officer
• Kellen Company
• EuroConference 2006
• 26 April 2006, Brussels

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EU US Trade relations

• TransAtlantic economic ties account for a third
  of global trade and 20 of the worlds foreign
  investment.
• US Investment in the Netherlands alone was twice
  what it was in Mexico
• For every five products exported from the US or
  Europe one is headed across the Atlantic,
  amounting 1.8 billion of trade of goods and
  services every day.

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The Renewed TransAtlantic Agenda

• TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD)
• Started in the mid-nineties it achieved success
  on some fronts and sectors
• TABD was revived in the past 2 years
• Key activities now include
• The TransAtlantic Legislators Dialogue (TLD)
  allowing better mutual understanding and insights
• The Forum for Regulatory Cooperation (Forum)

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Role of Associations

• Engaged with regulatory process early
• Provide technical and practical expertise in
  industry and science
• Develop consensus opinions for framework and
  scope in US and EU
• Create forum for information and feedback in the
  process

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Forum Regulatory Standards Ccooperation
Our aim is to build effective mechanisms to
promote better quality regluation, minimize
unnecessary regulatory divergences to facilitate
transatlantic trade and investment, and increase
consumer confidence in the Transatlantic market
(2005 EU-US Economic Initiative)

• Implementing of Regulatory Cooperation activities
  between EC and US authorities according to the
  2005 Roadmap
• Initiation of a work program of the high-level
  Regulatory Cooperation Forum as described in the
  annex of the Summit Economic Initiative.
• Promoting of Regulatory Cooperation outside the
  2005 Roadmap

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1. Implementing of Regulatory Cooperation...

• Sectoral dialogues with individual work plans in
  15 specific areas e.g. Automobile Safety,
  Consumer Product Safety, Nutrition Labeling, Food
  Safety, Energy Efficiency,
• Dialogue between European Commission Office of
  Management Budget
• EU-US Experts Exchange Program

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2. Initiation of a work program

• Platform for activities related to how do we
  cooperate on, for example
• Cross cutting regulatory cooperation topics
• Of general interest to regulators
• That are the responsibility for multiple
  regulatory authorities
• Future cooperative agenda
• Exchanges of annual Commission and US regulatory
  work program
• Facilitating the implementation of regulatory
  dialogues

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3. Regulatory Cooperation outside Roadmap

• Consideration should be given to expanding the
  spectrum of EU-US regulatory cooperation
  activities outside the 2005 Roadmap, and possible
  links with Forum activities, where appropriate.

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Automotive Industry

• Harmonization of standardization procedures
• could promote a more cost effective production
• A common direction in RD
• helps to create a head start in several
  technological fields
• can beat the threat of other raising economies
• Horizontal harmonization of regulation
• would lead to a costly more effective business.

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Energy Efficiency
The EU and the US will work together to advance
security, renewables, energy efficiency and
economic development (2005 EU-US Economic
Initiative)

• Hydrogen
• Develop cooperation on fuel cells under 2003
  DOE/EC Amendment Implementing Agreement for non
  nuclear energy cooperation
• Mobilize 3rd countries to develop and use
  hydrogen technology
• Clean Transport
• Strengthen cooperation between the U.S. Clean
  Cities Program and the EC CIVITAS Initiative
• EC/US-DOE workshop to review current cooperation
  and define work program.

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Food Industry

• Nutrition LabelingHarmonization will help to
  avoid discriminatory restrictions on both sides
  of the Atlantic which could lead to technical
  trade barriers.
• Food SafetyHarmonization of regulations could
  help to increase the competitiveness of European
  Industry.

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Framework for the future

• Successful methodology for rational regulatory
  approaches in global economy
• Template for other industry and service sectors
• Creation of basis line for reference in other
  international regulatory harmonization
  discussions
• Development of baseline measurements for
  cooperative efforts

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Facilitation of Process

• Associations in EU and US must work together
• Kellen approach to assist associations in
  information gathering and assimilation,
  representation, advocacy and coalition building
• Assembly of resources to concentrate on issues
  and results rather than on process
• Creation of value-added relations for
  associations and governments and technical and
  scientific levels

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• Thank you