AmCham EU presents its views at EESC event on regulatory cooperation in TTIP

The dialogue was organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and focused on the objective of regulatory cooperation and the need for it in TTIP. Andreas Galanakis, Policy Director, AmCham EU, presented AmCham EU’s views on the benefits of regulatory cooperation in TTIP.

AmCham believes that a comprehensive and ambitious TTIP which eliminates tariff barriers, delivers regulatory coherence, and facilitates trade through customs modernisation, will enhance a growth-oriented investment climate in Europe and the United States, and will benefit business, employment and all citizens on both sides of the Atlantic.

TTIP is a unique opportunity to create a framework for transatlantic cooperation to reduce or eliminate unnecessary regulatory divergences. Making progress on regulatory cooperation, from labelling requirements for clothing, to mutual recognition of technical compliance in automotives, to the harmonisation of testing methods for cosmetics, will open new opportunities for businesses across the US and the EU.

In addition, AmCham EU believes that one of the benefits that TTIP can deliver is the establishment of an institutional mechanism for future regulatory cooperation, to enforce commonly accepted principles and regulatory best practices, and pave the way towards future cooperation.

A number of civil society groups expressed concern that there is a risk that regulatory cooperation will affect a government’s right to regulate and may lead to a reduction in protection. Ignacio Garcia Bercero and others pointed out that TTIP will not lead to a reduction in the protection of citizens, nor will it prevent a government from exercising its right to regulate.