EU, US lawmakers seen key to deepening trade ties

EU and US lawmakers must work more closely if a project to cut transatlantic red tape and expand trade is to succeed, an EU official said yesterday.

The EU and the US agreed in April on creating a transatlantic economic council (TEC) to deepen economic integration between the world's two biggest trading partners with daily trading, services and investment worth $3 billion.

European Commission Vice President Guenter Verheugen said the first results emerged this week with agreements to share information in the cosmetics and medical devices sectors.

The TEC will also focus on pharmaceuticals, automobiles, chemicals and electrical equipment to scrap duplicated or incompatible product regulations and cut red tape for businesses and benefit consumers.

Mr Verheugen said the transatlantic regulatory dialogue needed to go beyond watchdogs and the executive to include lawmakers notifying each other at the earliest possible stage about what new laws were planned.

"An intensive transatlantic dialogue among legislators is essential for further economic integration," Mr Verheugen said in a speech released to the media.

"What we need is a structured, institutional dialogue between the European Parliament and US Congress," Mr Verheugen said, adding the dialogue should go beyond foreign affairs.

EU lawmakers should build bridges with their peers in Congress who deal with chemicals, cosmetics, patents and financial markets, he added.

Cosmetics were a priority because from March 2009 the sale of cosmetics tested on animals will be banned in the EU.

Of eight animal tests for the safety of cosmetic ingredients, four can be replaced by alternative methods approved by the EU, but the US accepts only two of these alternative tests.

"This is going to have a very negative impact on trade," Mr Verheugen said.

Some seven per cent of all cosmetic products in the US are imported from the EU, worth €3 billion a year. US cosmetics tested on animals will not be allowed to enter the EU, affecting an additional trade volume of about €1.5 billion a year.