EU News
Printable version |
Ensuring transparency in EU-US trade talks: EU publishes negotiating positions in five more areas
The European Commission has published negotiating positions in five more important topics of current talks with the US on a future trade and investment deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
This follows publication in July 2013 of our initial positions and is part of our efforts to be fully transparent about the negotiations (more on our transparency efforts). The papers released include proposals for enhancing the compatibility of each other's existing rules and regulations, or working more closely together in setting them in future, in five sectors:
In each sector, the papers focus on ways we can:
Details 1. Chemicals Current EU and US regulations on chemicals differ significantly. So neither harmonisation nor mutual recognition are feasible. The EU sees scope for working together in four areas, within the limits of our respective rules, to:
Doing so could make our systems more efficient and thereby cut firms' costs. 2. Cosmetics The paper builds on work which EU and US regulators already undertake jointly. It proposes working together to:
3. Motor vehicles For cars and trucks, EU and US technical requirements differ. But on both sides they aim to ensure high standards of health, safety and environmental protection. This paper sets out our aim: to achieve compatibility without lowering standards on either side. It identifies two main objectives:
Closer EU-US cooperation within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) could also help to set new global regulations. Agreement in these areas could lower costs to manufacturers and ultimately to consumers. 4. Pharmaceuticals In this area regulators on either side of the Atlantic already work closely together. The paper proposes several areas for further joint work. These are:
5. Textiles and clothing The paper proposes strengthening existing EU-US cooperation in three main areas:
Further information You can find the full versions of all the documents here: Chemicals: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/152468.htm Cosmetics: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/152470.htm Motor vehicles: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/152467.htm Pharmaceuticals: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/152471.htm Textiles and clothing: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/152469.htm |