Brussels, 20/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - SMEs have everything to gain from a free trade agreement between the EU and the US - this is the substance of what is highlighted in a Commission report unveiled by European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström on Monday 20 April.
Compiled by the European Commission's DGs for Trade and for Growth, the report presents the results of a survey conducted among European SMEs in 2014, and uses new data available on their exports to the US market. It also assesses the challenges facing European SMEs.
The report shows that SMEs are already the big winners from transatlantic trade. Over 150,000 of the 169,000 companies that exported to the US in 2012 were SMEs, accounting for 28% of all EU exports across the Atlantic and €80 billion annually.
In particular, the share of SME exports in food (51.8%), beverages (39.3%) and agriculture (87.9%), clothing (49.9%), textiles (61.2%) and leather (50.6%), chemicals (31.6%) and metalwork products (51.3%) compared with the total exports of these sectors to the US market was above the average share of SME exports from the EU in the total exports of the EU to the US market (27%).
Nevertheless, the survey also shows that European SMEs face large challenges in exporting to the US market and the Commission assures that these challenges can be addressed by an ambitious TTIP agreement that maintains a high level of standards.
Among the major challenges faced by SMEs, the Commission mentions compliance with technical rules and regulations for all products, access to information on the regulation applying to their products, market exclusion from a large share of government procurement, customs conformity and the differences in regulation between US states.
In addition to these cross-sectoral issues, the SMEs that responded to the survey raised sectoral issues. This is especially the case for food, beverages and agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electrical equipment and machines.
As regards services, the issue most highlighted was difficulties linked to the movement of the people providing services.
Ninth round of negotiations in New York. The regulatory section of TTIP is one of the items on the agenda of the ninth negotiation session this week (20-24 April) in New York, during which the EU and US negotiators will try to consolidate their views in each of the three negotiation pillars (market access, regulatory convergence, and rules).
Most subjects will be tabled for discussion and the parties will try to progress on the regulatory section, said European chief negotiator Ignacio Bercero Garcia on 17 April.
As regards the market access section, discussions will continue on the horizontal aspects (technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and regulatory coherence) and on regulatory convergence in key sectors (pharmaceuticals, automobiles, chemicals, textiles, cosmetics, medical apparatus, engineering, pesticides, and information and communication technology).
As regards regulatory coherence, at the previous session of talks the EU put forward a proposal based both on good practice in regulatory issues (impact assessments and stakeholder consultations) and on improving regulatory cooperation through a joint entity at an administrative level to ensure continuous dialogue between EU and US regulators. The Commission made this proposal public on 11 February (see EUROPE 11250). The objective is to “make a qualitative leap forward” on this issue, Bercero stated.
As regards sectoral convergence, the automobile sector is the one with the most ambitious objectives from both parties, Bercero said, stating that the EU and US regulators are trying to identify a number of regulations on both sides of the Atlantic that provide the same level of safety. For pharmaceuticals and medical apparatus, the regulatory authorities are working closely together to eliminate a maximum of duplication in tests and inspections. For chemicals, cooperation is limited due to enormous differences between the regulatory systems.
On the section on rules, most aspects will be addressed - energy and raw materials, customs cooperation and trade facilitation, dispute settlement between states, and intellectual property - with the exception of issues on sustainable development (work and environment) for which the EU wants a specific chapter to be included and will put forward a proposal in July.
By contrast, discussions on the chapter on investment protection remain on hold while awaiting the internal debate in the EU and a proposal from the Commission on a reformed investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, which is promised for the end of spring. (Emmanuel Hagry)