On Friday 22 November, the European Commission published a proposal for a text with the aim of concluding a conformity assessment agreement with Washington.
Under this agreement, exporters from both sides would be offered the possibility of having their products certified in their country of origin rather than in the country of consumption of the product, while ensuring an unchanged level of protection for their respective consumers.
“This would make trade quicker, easier and cheaper, while maintaining a high level of consumer safety”, commented Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström on Twitter.
The Commission stresses the importance of the economic benefits that can be expected from this simplification of these procedures with a country that remains the EU’s largest trading partner: in 2018, their trade in goods amounted to €674 billion.
The European proposal covers all industrial sectors for which an independent conformity assessment is required. There is a jumble of electrical and electronic equipment, construction products, machinery and toys (Appendix I).
A second appendix concerns medical devices and accessories, requiring marketing authorisation by a government agency. These lists may be amended by the Joint Committee of the Agreement.
The agreement would define the conditions under which the results of conformity assessment procedures would be validated by the respective bodies of the Parties to ensure that a product or process complies with a technical regulation of the importing country.
However, this does not imply the mutual acceptance of standards or technical regulations, the Commission stressed. In addition, the parties remain free to amend their regulations and evaluation procedures.
Reinforcing the Positive Agenda
These negotiations are part of the Positive Agenda, identified by Presidents Trump and Juncker in July 2018. Negotiating directives were adopted in the EU Council in April 2019 (see EUROPE 12234/19), with a view to increasing the sectoral coverage of the existing mutual recognition agreement for industrial products by eliminating unnecessary double controls (see EUROPE 12175/1).
Encouraged by the inaction of US President Donald Trump on the imposition of new tariffs on car imports, EU Trade Ministers urged the Commission to redouble its efforts to demonstrate the relevance of this Agenda (see EUROPE 12374/4, 12256/12, 12195/1).
A second mandate had also been validated on industrial products. However, these last negotiations have still not been initiated.
To read the Commission’s text: https://bit.ly/37uANFX (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)