The European Commission took stock of the progress made by the EU-US Executive Working Group on Regulatory Issues with civil society representatives on Tuesday 9 July and highlighted the priorities of European stakeholders in these talks.
On this occasion, participants reviewed the results of a call for proposals for civil society, launched in early 2019, on conformity assessment, standards and voluntary cooperation, included in one of the transatlantic negotiating mandates (see EUROPE 12175/1). The Commission's Trade Services had invited stakeholders to comment on areas that could be opened up for regulatory cooperation with the United States, with a view to new avenues of cooperation within the framework of the Executive Working Group.
62 contributions were submitted, mainly from companies, chambers of commerce and professional associations.
Conformity assessment. In its call for proposals, the Commission focused on the types of obstacles faced by EU exporters in certifying product conformity, as well as those faced by EU conformity assessment bodies.
Many contributions came from industries subject to these assessments, such as engineering, machinery and equipment, medical devices and ICT. Several stakeholders made additional contributions to topics currently under discussion with Washington, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and cybersecurity.
Dialogue on standards. Cooperation on standards, envisaged between the EU and Washington, should focus on new areas not yet standardised. The standardisation bodies have therefore submitted suggestions on subjects where improved cooperation would be of interest to economic operators, in particular in the fields of transport (autonomous mobility), construction, new technologies (artificial intelligence, cybersecurity), manufacturing industry and areas such as intelligent textiles and toy safety. A few organisations also submitted proposals for the agri-food sector.
Regulatory cooperation. The Commission had called for concrete initiatives for regulatory cooperation in sectors that could facilitate bilateral trade.
Stakeholders have therefore presented joint transatlantic proposals, particularly in the automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, which the Commission considers particularly promising, thanks to the identification of common objectives.
The contributions from representatives of consumer organisations and other NGOs covered areas such as consumer protection, animal welfare, transparency and environmental protection.
However, the transatlantic trade negotiations are slow to bear fruit (see EUROPE 12236/12). However, White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow was optimistic on Tuesday 9 July, telling the American press that despite the impasse on the agriculture issue, progress was being made in these EU-US talks.
To consult these contributions: https://bit.ly/2JAYSQo (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)