EU Eyes Closer U.S. Ties Regulating Sectors From Cars to Drugs
EU Eyes Closer U.S. Ties Regulating Sectors From Cars to Drugs
(Bloomberg) -- The European Union is weighing closer regulatory ties with the U.S. for industries including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and marine equipment, part of a push for a market-opening accord to keep the threat of American automotive tariffs at bay.
The EU is also considering stronger trans-Atlantic cooperation on standards for new technologies including for cars, according to a document drafted by the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm in Brussels.
The paper outlines ways to carry forward part of a deal in July between U.S. President Donald Trump and commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker that put on hold possible U.S. auto duties based on the same national-security grounds the White House used to impose controversial levies on foreign steel and aluminum. In addition to greater cooperation over regulation and standards, the two leaders pledged a push to eliminate tariffs on industrial goods.
“The case for EU and U.S. engagement on regulatory issues has always been strong,” says the paper seen on Friday by Bloomberg News. “The process of globalization has sharpened our mutual interest in avoiding fragmented regulatory solutions to address similar societal challenges.”
Political Agreement
The document sheds extra light on the EU’s plans for enacting a July 25 political agreement that includes a good deal of ambiguity, which has occasionally led to contradictory statements by officials on each side and highlighted the persistent risk of a sudden escalation in trans-Atlantic trade tensions.
The potential for misunderstandings was highlighted earlier this week, when European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said the onus is on the Trump administration to come up with proposals to lower tariffs on industrial goods while U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross accused the EU of failing to pay sufficient attention to the question of standards.
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Talks on EU-U.S. regulatory cooperation are due to take place in Washington on Oct. 23-24. The commission plans to conduct the discussions in this area outside the context of any talks on an industrial-tariffs accord, for which Malmstrom would need a negotiating mandate from EU national governments.
“Cooperation would be voluntary, transparent and accountable, in full respect of domestic procedures and levels of protection,” says the commission document, which has a cover page from the Brussels office of EU governments dated Oct. 3.
In that context, the paper offers the following ideas regarding specific industries:
- Pharmaceuticals: Possibly extending to veterinary medicines and vaccines a 2017 EU-U.S. agreement on the mutual recognition of inspection results for manufacturing sites for human medicines
- Medical devices: Devising a roadmap for measures to facilitate product approvals and avoid duplication of conformity assessment
- Marine equipment: Completing “soon” the legal and procedural steps needed to enact a recent deal broadening the scope of a 2004 EU-U.S. agreement on the mutual recognition of certificates of conformity assessment
- Standards: Enhanced cooperation between standard-development organizations in Europe and counterparts in the U.S., including through a possible “mechanism” to coordinate activities and streamline the dissemination of information
- Cars: Possible EU-U.S. cooperation, within the context of a 1998 international accord, on technical rules for new technologies such as automated vehicles
- Cyber security: Possible deeper EU-U.S. cooperation over the development of “globally relevant standards”
- Foods: Possible extension of EU-U.S. cooperation over food safety in areas “where levels of protection are similar” and in full respect of each side’s existing legislation, including the bloc’s relatively strict rules on genetically modified organisms and its ban on hormone-treated beef
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo, Jones Hayden
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