Brussels, 29/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - On the eve of the first informal EU/US ministerial meeting exclusively devoted to economic issues - which is to meet on 30 November in Brussels attended by Commissioner Günter Verheugen, US Trade Secretary Carlos Guttierez, British Trade Secretary Alan Johnson - the European and American industrialists jointly urged governments on both sides to adopt concrete and practical measures aimed at abolishing transatlantic trade barriers. The ministerial meeting is one of the concrete results of the EU/United States Summit held in June this year in Washington, which had approved the Initiative to Enhance Transatlantic Economic Integration and Growth, the final aim of which is to create a barrier-free transatlantic market. The initiative was founded on concrete suggestions made by the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), an association that groups CEOs of key European and American companies and which presses for maximum cooperation between economic players and governments on both sides of the Atlantic. Speaking to the press in Brussels, the European co-president of TABD, Niall FitzGerald (Reuters CEU), stressed on Tuesday how much he hoped Wednesday's ministerial meeting would come to “concrete results and actions”, and in particular the adoption of practical arrangements and a precise timetable for setting up a Permanent Regulatory Forum, the creation of which had been decided at the Washington Summit. The business leaders consider regulatory cooperation between Europeans and Americans is absolutely essential if transatlantic trade and investment flows are to be encouraged. The REACH legislation on the registration and authorisation of chemical substances in the EU is “an example of what should have been the subject of constant regulatory cooperation with the United States”, Mr FitzGerald said. He felt it likely that the EU could have avoided many problems if it had consulted the Americans and others before launching its legislative procedure. He went on to warn that another controversial issue is already developing, that of the ban on animal testing for the manufacture of cosmetics. Without a concerted approach with the United States, this project could become one of the largest obstacles to transatlantic trade, Mr FitzGerald warned. The TABD also hopes to see concrete measures for the protection of intellectual property rights and the fight against counterfeiting, as well as in the field of accounting standards, and it expects that the ministerial meeting will send an “urgent message” to WTO negotiators.
On Tuesday, Commissioner Günter Verheugen and Carlos Guttierez held bilateral talks essentially focused on regulatory issues and innovation. Speaking to the press, Mr Verheugen stressed that cooperation with Washington on harmonisation of the transatlantic regulatory framework was the “biggest priority” and that progress so far was “encouraging”. The protection of intellectual property and the fight against industrial piracy are also priorities. The United States and the EU have a “very strong common interest” in this field, mainly when it comes to emerging countries such as China, Mr Verheugen said. During the first half of 2006, the Commission plans to launch a cross-sectoral initiative to defend European intellectual property rights in the world, and it is ready to cooperate with the United States “in the development and preparation phase of the initiative”, Mr Verheugen explained.