Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: a Possible Role for Congress

Abstract

The United States and the European Union (EU) share a comprehensive, dynamic, and mutually beneficial economic relationship. Transatlantic markets are among the most open in the world and are deeply integrated. However, the existence of regulatory barriers limits an even more integrated market from materializing. The United States and the EU have engaged in a number of attempts to reduce remaining non-tariff and regulatory barriers to trade. In the most recent effort, President Bush and German Chancellor Merkel, serving as President of the EU, at the April 2007 U.S. - EU Summit agreed to establish the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC). The TEC was directed to advance the work of reducing or eliminating non-tariff barriers to transatlantic commerce and trade. The leaders also created an advisory group to provide guidance and direction to the TEC and invited the U.S. Congress, along with the European Parliament, to accept a new, more substantive role in transatlantic regulatory cooperation by becoming part of the advisory group. The Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue (TLD) was appointed to represent the legislatures in the TEC advisory group. Since it began nearly two decades ago, transatlantic regulatory cooperation has been mostly limited to the executive branches and regulatory bodies on both sides of the Atlantic. However, the idea of legislators assuming a more pro-active role in transatlantic economic and regulatory cooperation is not a new issue. At the 1995 launch of the New Transatlantic Agenda, the leaders of the U.S. and EU acknowledged that they attached great importance to enhanced parliamentary links and agreed to consult with parliamentary leaders on both sides of the Atlantic regarding consultation mechanisms, including building on existing institutions, to discuss matters related to our transatlantic partnership.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 07, 2008
Accession Number
ADA490105

Entities

People

  • Raymond J. Ahearn
  • Vincent Morelli

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Commerce
  • Congress
  • Cooperation
  • Economic Systems
  • European Union
  • Foreign Relations
  • House Of Representatives
  • Information Exchange
  • Intellectual Property
  • International Relations
  • International Trade
  • Investments
  • Law
  • Public Policy
  • Task Forces
  • United States

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Economics
  • European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).