Home About Participating Companies Issues TEC Industry Consultation Facilitating Secure Transatlantic Trade Conference TABD Innovation Conference Healthcare 2007 EU-US Summit Media Section Past CEO Reports Economic Facts Mission Statement History Contact		TABD POLICY ISSUES August 2007 TABD believes that the way to foster innovation, expand economic growth and promote job creation in the U.S. and Europe is to establish a Barrier-Free Transatlantic Market. We are pleased that the Leaders of the U.S.-EU Summit 2007 agreed the new Framework for Advancing Transatlantic Economic Integration The Framework incorporates many of the TABD's recommendations to strengthen transatlantic economic integration. Importantly, the Framework foresees the establishment of a Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC), which will guide work between EU-U.S. Summits with a focus on achieving results, including setting goals, developing metrics, setting deadlines and targets, and monitoring progress. The TABD has been chosen to advise the TEC on transatlantic business priorities for pursuing transatlantic economic integration. Forging joint responses to global challenges The TABD believes that the common economic agenda of the EU and U.S. should feature joint responses to common global challenges. First, these include the need to create a new platform for growth and development through a successful outcome to the Doha Development Round. Second, the U.S. and EU should commit to the new Framework agreement, with a view to establishing a Barrier Free Transatlantic Market, so as to ensure the free flow of goods, capital and people across the Atlantic. A key feature of a Barrier-Free Transatlantic Market is an open investment climate. An essential element is closer regulatory cooperation to speed up the removal of existing barriers to trade and investment and to avoid the creation of new ones. Other key priorities include the integration of transatlantic capital markets, joint action to balance security concerns while also facilitating trade and the movement of people; stimulating transatlantic innovation and protection and enforcement of intellectual property against counterfeiting and piracy. Recommendations to the 2007 U.S.-EU Summit Completing multilateral trade negotiations TABD continues to urge the EU and U.S. to demonstrate leadership to bring the WTO Doha Round to a successful conclusion over the coming months. Without strong international trading rules and a pathway for on-going liberalization in agriculture, non-agricultural products and services, our trading partners will see their business opportunities curtailed and will be further set back in their desire to grow, prosper and participate more fully in the global economy. Initiating negotiations of a framework agreement implementing the Barrier Free Transatlantic Market The TABD advocates the establishment of a Barrier-Free Transatlantic Market as the best means to boost economic growth, trade, job creation and investment across the Atlantic. To fulfill the full potential of the transatlantic economic relationship, business leaders of the TABD called in 2007 on the U.S.-EU Summit Leaders to initiate negotiations of a framework agreement that will set clear goals and milestones to be achieved, and importantly, commit themselves to deliver those targets and monitor progress. The TABD welcomes the agreed Framework for Transatlantic Economic Integration and its new Transatlantic Economic Council, which we see as a significant step towards the establishment of a Barrier-Free Transatlantic Market. Maintaining an open investment climate No other commercial relationship in the world is as broad and as deep as the transatlantic commercial relationship, which is illustrated by staggering levels of investment: in 2005, U.S. foreign direct investment in Europe and European foreign direct investment in the U.S. each exceeded $ 1 trillion. Despite the demonstrated benefits of foreign investment, the TABD remains deeply concerned about protectionist tendencies limiting an open investment climate. Politicization of the investment review procedures and resulting protectionism drives up costs, enhance risk, hold back review procedures and generally generate business uncertainty that is inimical to cross border investment. The TABD strongly urges the U.S. and EU to guarantee transparency in reviewing investment decisions and request the two to set up a Dialogue on Investment to examine and address existing and upcoming obstacles to FDI. Moving towards a transatlantic financial market An integrated transatlantic capital market must be built on a foundation of clear principles to be applied and implemented. The work of the Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue (FMRD), which established clear roadmaps for the resolution of divergences, such as for the convergence of IFRS and the U.S. GAAP, needs to continue to drive towards additional progress in other areas. These include creating greater equivalence between rules governing listing and delisting of securities, more flexible corporate governance rules and convergence of accounting standards so as to raise confidence in financial reporting. Importantly, the TABD advocates the application of clear principles by the U.S. and EU to lay the foundations for an integrated transatlantic capital market by 2015. Improving regulatory cooperation as a path to innovation and growth Results-oriented regulatory cooperation is at the heart of the transatlantic economic relationship. The TABD believes that high-level political commitment is required to find new means to prevent the emergence of non-tariff barriers in the transatlantic marketplace. We call on U.S. and EU Leaders to initiate negotiations for a transatlantic regulatory cooperation agreement to reduce the risk of future regulatory divergences and set the institutional structure for more results-oriented regulatory cooperation on both horizontal and sectoral levels. In addition, governments should implement a system of early warning through notification of anticipated new regulations on both sides of the Atlantic and involve legislators and stakeholders in transatlantic regulatory cooperation on a structural basis. Strengthening security and enhancing transatlantic business TABD applauds the important progress EU-U.S. cooperation is making in this area but is concerned about protectionist voices using security concerns as a pretext to restrict trade, immigration and investment. The TABD urges the U.S. and EU to establish a sustainable situation by coordinated investment for the long term, with a view to create a system which is transparent for customers, industry and governments. Transatlantic business currently still suffers from the complexity and costs of having to comply with different security rules and regimes, which essentially share the same objective. Sustainable long term solutions should facilitate the unimpeded movement of key business personnel, low risk travellers and cargo. We want to see reform of current US visa policies, including more certainty in the visa-issuance process. Travel to and from the U.S. could be boosted by a ≥preferred business traveller visa programme≈ and the extension of visa waiver status to all 27 EU Member States, without supplementary procedures. Progress has to be made towards a ≥transatlantic registered traveller programme≈. Furthermore, the TABD urges the U.S. and EU to enhance supply chain security by working towards mutual recognition of the C-TPAT and the AEO by 2010. Fight against counterfeiting and piracy Counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property can be highly dangerous activities that threaten the welfare of consumers, companies and societies. The TABD welcomes the joint enforcement strategy adopted by the U.S. and EU and are pleased with the steps taken in the past year to fight counterfeiting and piracy in third countries. We urge the governments to make additional resources available so that the joint enforcement actions may be extended to other countries. In addition, the TABD supports creation of new public-private partnerships to jointly address the counterfeit problem at the source and throughout the supply chain. Given the magnitude of the counterfeiting and piracy problem and the threats posed to consumers, companies and societies as whole, joint action is also needed to raise public awareness of the dangers associated with the trade in counterfeit goods.
CONTACT INFORMATION: US TABD Office +1 202 775 3251         EU TABD Office +32 (2) 238 5240