U.S.-EU Regulatory Cooperation

The United States and European Union (EU) have highlighted the importance of closer U.S.-EU regulatory cooperation for enhancing the transatlantic economic relationship, as differences in U.S. and EU regulations comprise the most significant remaining transatlantic trade barriers. Public and private sector contributions to the Transatlantic Economic Stakeholder Initiative launched at the June 2004 U.S.-EU Summit have underscored the importance of deeper regulatory cooperation. Recommendations resulting from that initiative will be announced at the 2005 U.S.-EU Summit.

The U.S. and European Commission promote regulatory cooperation through the U.S.-EU Guidelines for Regulatory Cooperation and Transparency, and the U.S.-EU Regulatory Cooperation Roadmap launched at the Dromoland Summit in June 2004 (http://ustr.gov/World_Regions/Europe_Mediterranean/Europe/U.S._EU_Regulatory_Cooperation/Roadmap_for_EU-U.S._Regulatory_Cooperation_Transparency). Under this framework, U.S. and European officials are cooperating now on a broad range of important sectors, including pharmaceuticals, auto safety, information and communications technology, cosmetics, consumer product safety, chemicals, nutritional labeling and eco-design of electrical products. Through targeted consultations, we aim to promote better quality regulation, minimize regulatory divergences, and facilitate trade.

The United States and the European Commission also discuss a range of financial regulatory issues in the Informal Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue, a group led by the Treasury Department and the Commission’s Directorate for Internal Market with participation by the Federal Reserve Board and Securities and Exchange Commission
(http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js1752). The agenda has included issues arising on both sides of the Atlantic, such as various Directives that are part of Europe’s Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP), provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, implementation of the Basel II Capital Accord and convergence of U.S. and EU accounting standards. Over the past year, the dialogue has moved into a new phase of broader, deeper discussion that covers implementation of the FSAP measures and continues to cover new legislative initiatives, such as auditing, the EU’s Capital Adequacy Directive and re-insurance.

To improve understanding of our respective regulatory approaches, we also are promoting more active cooperation between the European Commission and the U.S. Government on cross-cutting topics, such as good regulatory practices, transparency procedures and regulatory impact assessment methodologies.