{ "id": "RL34717", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL34717", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 395572, "date": "2011-12-22", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T00:23:59.689564", "title": "Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Background and Analysis", "summary": "Commercial ties between the United States and the 27-member European Union are substantial, growing, and mutually beneficial. However, differences in regulatory approaches limit an even more integrated marketplace from developing. To deal with this situation, a variety of government-to-government efforts have been created to dismantle existing regulatory barriers and to prevent new ones from emerging. These efforts fall under the rubric of transatlantic regulatory cooperation (TRC) and are at the heart of today\u2019s U.S.-EU economic relationship.\nThis report is intended to serve as an introduction and primer on a complicated, broad, and often highly technical set of issues. Since the mid-1990s, both U.S. and European multinational companies have viewed divergent ways of regulating markets for both goods and services as the most serious barriers to transatlantic commerce. The primary reason why these companies seek to achieve greater harmonization in standards and regulatory procedures is to reduce costs imposed by having to comply with two different sets of regulations and standards.\nTRC must deal with a number of key differences between the United States and EU concerning approaches to regulation. These differences involve political support for regulation and public attitudes towards risk and transparency. Until they converge or are re-aligned, a transatlantic gap in regulatory policies is likely to persist.\nRegulatory cooperation is an umbrella concept that incorporates a broad range of activities. At one end of the spectrum are information exchanges and dialogues among regulators that are designed to build trust and confidence. At the other end of the spectrum are activities designed to harmonize regulatory approaches through acceptance of common principles and standards. In between are activities that involve varying degrees of intrusion into the autonomy of regulators.\nTRC initiatives have made progress in reducing costs to businesses and consumers in some sectors, but not in others. One of the key obstacles to more extensive cooperation frequently cited is the domestic orientation of regulatory agencies involved in the process. To promote more effective TRC, two policy options are commonly advanced: (1) attracting high-level political support and (2) increasing dramatically the involvement of legislators (Congress and the European Parliament). The Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC), which was created in April 2007, was designed, in part, to generate the kind of high-level political support that previous initiatives may have lacked. \nAt the last TEC meeting, held in November 2011, the two sides agreed to avoid creating new and unintended barriers to trade and investment, especially in emerging technologies, such as nanotechnology, biobased food, and cloud computing. The leaders also encouraged regulators on both sides to implement common regulatory principles and best practices. \nTRC has been mostly an executive branch driven process. Yet, through authorization and appropriations of the many different regulatory agencies involved in TRC, Congress could play a more central role if it decided to move in this direction. As domestic regulation takes place in an increasingly integrated transatlantic marketplace, Congress will be called upon to balance the often competing demands of trade expansion and barrier reduction against domestic health and safety concerns.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL34717", "sha1": "4f64d0406da53d4b1aeafde6edc8b64aa82cdbfd", "filename": "files/20111222_RL34717_4f64d0406da53d4b1aeafde6edc8b64aa82cdbfd.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL34717", "sha1": "f3376f85850d45b3b93cb4a43e4deb8c5e2f9e4a", "filename": "files/20111222_RL34717_f3376f85850d45b3b93cb4a43e4deb8c5e2f9e4a.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc33076/", "id": "RL34717_2011Mar07", "date": "2011-03-07", "retrieved": "2011-04-28T13:31:19", "title": "Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Background and Analysis", "summary": "This report discusses commercial ties between the United States and the 27-member European Union. These ties are substantial, growing, and mutually beneficial, but differences in regulatory approaches limit an even more integrated marketplace from developing. This report is intended to serve as an introduction and primer on this complicated, broad, and often highly technical set of issues.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110307_RL34717_db99c5ce87ab982da9248705e308e71fbb8d081f.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110307_RL34717_db99c5ce87ab982da9248705e308e71fbb8d081f.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations - U.S. - European Union", "name": "Foreign relations - U.S. - European Union" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations - European Union - U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations - European Union - U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade", "name": "Trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International trade", "name": "International trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International economic integration", "name": "International economic integration" }, { "source": "KWD", "id": "European Union", "name": "European Union" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc505507/", "id": "RL34717_2010Jan21", "date": "2010-01-21", "retrieved": "2015-05-29T05:37:21", "title": "Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Background and Analysis", "summary": "This report discusses commercial ties between the United States and the 27-member European Union. While ties between the U.S. and EU are substantial, growing, and mutually beneficial, differences in regulatory approaches limit an even more integrated marketplace from developing. To deal with this situation, a variety of government-to-government efforts have been created to dismantle existing regulatory barriers and to prevent new ones from emerging.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20100121_RL34717_9dcea8c1633a4648ca1b7b40bf9bd14485114a81.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20100121_RL34717_9dcea8c1633a4648ca1b7b40bf9bd14485114a81.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- European Union", "name": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- European Union" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- European Union -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- European Union -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade", "name": "Trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International trade", "name": "International trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International economic integration", "name": "International economic integration" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc820055/", "id": "RL34717_2009Aug24", "date": "2009-08-24", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Background and Analysis", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20090824_RL34717_b5c46a39ee00f117cd92770e6cdb41af32bffafd.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20090824_RL34717_b5c46a39ee00f117cd92770e6cdb41af32bffafd.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc463011/", "id": "RL34717_2008Oct22", "date": "2008-10-22", "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41", "title": "Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Background and Analysis", "summary": "This report is intended to serve as an introduction and primer on a complicated, broad, and often highly technical set of issues. It is presented in seven parts: the first section describes the nature and scope of U.S.-EU regulatory barriers; the second section explains the rationale for regulatory cooperation; the third section highlights the differences in U.S.-EU regulatory approaches; the fourth section examines the various forms of regulatory cooperation; the fifth section evaluates the results of past initiatives at regulatory cooperation; the sixth section analyses the creation and operation of the Transatlantic Economic Council; and the last section highlights the role of Congress in transatlantic regulatory cooperation.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20081022_RL34717_3bb20bbcf90f2c12fbd2b7742aa5032cd224d928.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20081022_RL34717_3bb20bbcf90f2c12fbd2b7742aa5032cd224d928.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- European Union", "name": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- European Union" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- European Union -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- European Union -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade", "name": "Trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign trade regulation", "name": "Foreign trade regulation" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International trade", "name": "International trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International economic integration", "name": "International economic integration" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "European Union", "name": "European Union" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Economic Policy", "European Affairs", "Foreign Affairs" ] }