Document ID: OSHA-2008-0032-0002
Agency: osha
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2008-10-20T04:00Z

Framework for Advancing Transatlantic Economic Integration Between the
United States of America and the European Union 

    HYPERLINK "http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/eusummit/2007/"  2007
U.S.-EU Summit  

We, leaders of the United States of America and the European Union (EU):

Believing that deeper transatlantic economic integration and growth will
benefit our citizens and the competitiveness of our economies, will have
global benefits, will facilitate market access for third countries and
will encourage other countries to adopt the transatlantic economic model
of respect for property rights, openness to investment, transparency and
predictability in regulation, and the value of free markets; 

Affirming our shared commitment to increase the transparency and
efficiency of our economic cooperation and to accelerate the reduction
of barriers to international trade and investment; 

Desiring to improve the effectiveness of existing economic cooperation
and to elevate and accelerate existing work to achieve tangible
progress; 

Recognizing that the transatlantic economy remains at the forefront of
globalization, and that the United States and the European Union are
each other's most important economic partners, reflecting historical
ties as well as a wide range of common fundamental values, such as the
importance of free enterprise, rule of law, property rights, free trade,
and competition, and the protection of health, safety and the
environment for our citizens and workers; 

Reaffirming our commitment to the 2005 U.S.-EU Summit Declaration on
Enhancing Transatlantic Economic Integration and Growth, in which we
resolved to pursue a forward-looking agenda to enhance transatlantic
economic integration and growth, and our commitments from the June 2006
Summit to redouble our efforts to reduce barriers to transatlantic trade
and investment and our pledge to keep our investment regimes open and to
build on existing investment flows to boost growth and create jobs in
the transatlantic economy; 

Recognizing further that we have established a wide range of joint work
in the areas of regulatory cooperation, financial markets, trade and
transport security, innovation and technological development,
intellectual property rights, energy, investment, competition, services,
and government procurement; 

Welcoming the launch of a study funded by the European Commission to
identify existing barriers to trade and investment and estimate the
benefits of removing such barriers. 

Have reached the following shared understandings: 

Section I Purposes 

We seek to strengthen transatlantic economic integration, with the goal
of improving competitiveness and the lives of our people. To that end,
this Framework reaffirms a multi-year program of cooperation that
emphasizes results and provides accountability. 

Section II

Fostering Cooperation and Reducing Regulatory Burdens 

In light of our shared commitment to removing barriers to transatlantic
commerce; to rationalizing, reforming, and, where appropriate, reducing
regulations to empower the private sector; to achieving more effective,
systematic and transparent regulatory cooperation to reduce costs
associated with regulation to consumers and producers; to removing
unnecessary differences between our regulations to foster economic
integration; to reinforce the existing transatlantic dialogue structures
in regulatory cooperation both by intensifying our sector-by-sector
EU-U.S. regulatory cooperation and our dialogue between the U.S. Office
of Management and Budget and European Commission services on
methodological issues: we resolve to achieve the goals set out in Annex
1 in a timely manner. 

Section III

Lighthouse Priority Projects 

We have identified in Annex 2 priority growth projects, selected from
the existing work program and other programs within the existing
transatlantic dialogue, that will significantly enhance transatlantic
economic integration, and we resolve to achieve progress on these
projects within six to eight months of the effective date of this
Framework, and at latest by the time of the 2008 EU-U.S. Summit. We
resolve that future priorities are to be reflected by updating the
Lighthouse Priority Projects identified in Annex 2. 

Section IV

Transatlantic Economic Council 

The Transatlantic Economic Council is hereby established, to be
co-chaired, on the U.S. side, by a U.S. Cabinet-level official in the
Executive Office of the President (currently Allan Hubbard) and on the
EU side by a Member of the European Commission (currently Vice President
Guenter Verheugen), collaborating closely with the EU Presidency. The
Council is to: 

Oversee the efforts outlined in this Framework, with the goal of
accelerating progress; 

Guide work between U.S.-EU Summits with a focus on achieving results,
including setting goals for achieving the purposes of this Framework,
developing metrics, setting deadlines and targets, and monitoring
progress; 

Adopt a work program, drawn initially from the existing work program
under the 2005 U.S.-EC Economic Initiative, with the goal of achieving
the objectives of this Framework, and shall adapt this work program and
otherwise organize its activities in the manner best suited to achieving
those objectives; 

Review at least semi-annually its progress in achieving the objectives
of this Framework; 

Facilitate joint action under this Framework to advance its purposes; 

Review ongoing U.S.-EU economic engagement in order to maximize progress
in existing transatlantic dialogues with a view to consider phasing out
technical dialogues that have completed their work or are otherwise no
longer necessary; 

Meet at least once a year at such time as the co-chairs decide; 

Oversee preparation of annual reports to the U.S.-EU Summit leaders on
goals, metrics for meeting those goals, deadlines, achievements, and
areas where more progress is needed; 

Facilitate closer cooperation between the United States and European
Union and our legislators and stakeholders; 

Convene a group comprised of individuals experienced in transatlantic
issues drawing in particular from the heads of existing transatlantic
dialogues to provide input and guidance to the U.S.-EU Summit on
priorities for pursuing transatlantic economic integration; and 

11. Include representatives of other governmental entities as the
Council determines to be appropriate.

Section V

Work Program of Cooperation 

We resolve to work to promote transatlantic economic integration in the
following areas: intellectual property rights, investment, secure trade,
financial markets, and innovation as set forth in the attached Annexes
2-7. 

Signed at Washington, D.C., on this thirtieth day of April, 2007, in
three originals. 

FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 

George W. Bush

President 

FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION: 

Angela Merkel 

President of the European Council 

José Manuel Barroso

President of the European Commission 

Annex 1

Fostering Cooperation and Reducing Regulatory Burdens 

Take the following steps to reduce barriers to transatlantic economic
integration posed by new regulations by reinforcing the existing
transatlantic dialogue structures: 

Pursue development of a methodological framework to help ensure the
comparability of impact assessments, particularly risk assessment and
cost-benefit analysis; 

Appoint heads of regulatory authorities as permanent members of the U.S.
- EU High-Level Regulatory Cooperation Forum to report on any risks or
benefits from significant differences in regulatory approaches
identified in the sectoral dialogues or the European Commission
Secretariat General (EC)-U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
dialogue called for under the 2005 U.S.-EU Economic Initiative,
recognizing that the Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue will continue
its own, separate, work program described in Annex 6, and updating the
Council on its progress as appropriate. 

Reinforce the existing transatlantic dialogue on regulatory cooperation
by cooperating to improve regulation, specifically through cooperation
between OMB and the EC to: 

Taking into account, among other things, the impact assessment
considerations in place, evaluate progress regarding this cooperation,
and consider a more formal basis to enhance this cooperation; 

Intensify their dialogue focusing on issues of methodology; 

Hold regular and active exchanges on the overall framework of our
regulatory co-operation and on methodological issues which may arise in
individual cases; 

Review the application of their respective regulatory impact analysis
guidelines so that the regulatory impacts on trade and investment are
considered, as appropriate; and 

Share forward planning schedules. 

Take the following steps to reduce barriers to transatlantic economic
integration posed by regulations in specific sectors by intensifying
sector-by-sector regulatory cooperation, including through enhanced
EC-OMB cooperation, including the following: 

Encourage further cooperation in the areas of agriculture, sanitary and
phyto-sanitary measures, and food safety; 

Promote the application of the 2002 U.S.-EU Guidelines for Regulatory
Cooperation and Transparency for specific sectoral pilot projects to be
determined in consultation with stakeholders. We agree to discuss
additional pilot projects on a case-by-case basis for exploring improved
US-EU regulatory cooperation. 

Pursue implementation of the Roadmap for Regulatory Cooperation,
including the following priority projects to be pursued in 2007 and
2008: 

Collaborating on cosmetics regulations, in particular with a view to
reducing the need for animal tests by cooperating on alternative testing
methods; 

Seeking final agreement between U.S. and EU regulators on shifting
resources away from implementation of the Medical Device Annex of the
Mutual Recognition Agreement between the United States and the European
Community to a more productive bilateral collaboration on medical
devices; 

Promoting administrative simplification in the application of regulation
of medicinal products; 

Addressing common concerns in the automotive sector in the area of road
safety and fuel economy in order to avoid or reduce barriers to
transatlantic trade; 

Expanding cooperation on OECD activities relating to risk assessment,
Good Laboratory Practices and the Globally Harmonized System of
Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, study templates, information
technology for data submissions, as well as on alternative test methods
(QSAR), test methods and risks of manufactured nanomaterials; and 

Initiating an exchange on conformity assessment procedures for the
safety of electrical equipment. 

Annex 2 Lighthouse Priority Projects 

Intellectual Property Rights. Develop procedures for the exchange of
information relating to goods suspected of infringing intellectual
property rights, the exchange of customs officials, and the organisation
of joint technical assistance and/or enforcement missions and seek
progress in the harmonisation of the different patent regimes. 

Secure trade. Develop common and accepted standards to maximize
security, safety and facilitation of international trade supply chain
that could lead to mutual recognition of programs for economic
operators. Begin to exchange information on validation results
associated with the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and
Authorized Economic Operator programs in order to avoid the duplication
of controls and to reduce business costs by avoiding divergent control
requirements, as appropriate. 

Financial Markets. Promote and seek to ensure conditions for the U.S.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and International Financial
Reporting Standards to be recognized in both jurisdictions without the
need for reconciliation by 2009 or possibly sooner. 

Innovation and Technology. 

Conduct a high-level conference on innovation in health-related
industries and a workshop on best practices in innovation policies; 

Develop a joint framework for cooperation on identification and
development of best practices for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
technologies and develop a work plan to promote the interoperability of
electronic health record systems; 

Develop a science-based work plan for EU-U.S. collaboration on
innovative and eco-efficient biobased products; 

Establish a joint research infrastructure for mouse functional genomics
(following a joint meeting in 2007 in Belgium); 

Sponsor joint workshops or conferences to foster the exchange of
information on nanotechnology in areas of mutual interest. 

Investment. Establish a regular dialogue to address obstacles to
investment 

Annex 3 

Intellectual Property Rights 

In order to enhance recognition and enforcement of intellectual property
rights, we resolve to: 

Cooperate on improving the efficiency and the effectiveness of the
patent system at the global level to promote innovation, employment, and
competitiveness, and seek progress in the harmonisation of the different
patent regimes; 

Implement the EU-U.S. Action Strategy on Intellectual Property Rights
Enforcement, including stepping up joint efforts in all areas, in
particular: 

Continue to advance a constructive discussion of enforcement at the WTO
TRIPS Council and to explore other possible vehicles for advancing
international cooperation on IPR enforcement among countries sharing
common interests in this area; 

Strengthen customs cooperation, including exchange of information
relating to goods suspected of infringing intellectual property rights
and statistics on the seizures of such goods, as well as programs to
exchange officials and best practices; 

Work jointly to improve the IPR protection and enforcement in China and
Russia, increase cooperation in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East,
including the extension of the IPR networks to these regions; 

Expand joint technical assistance initiatives in Asia and Latin America,
including the organization of work shops, seminars and on-site training;
and 

Improve public-private coordination and cooperation on
anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy education, public awareness and
business practices. 

Annex 4

Investment 

In order to reduce barriers to transatlantic trade and investment, keep
investment regimes open, and build on existing investment flows to boost
growth and create jobs, we resolve to: 

Continue close co-operation in the OECD with regard to studying and
fostering policy reforms that are conducive to attracting investment; 

Engage in regular discussions of laws, policies and practices that could
impact investments in the EU and the United States; 

Develop work to prevent, eliminate or reduce the impact from investment
barriers, with special attention being given to small and medium-sized
enterprises. 

Annex 5 

Secure Trade 

As common standards and mutual recognition of standards where possible
in trade partnership programs can strengthen security of the supply
chain against terrorist exploitation or commercial fraud, such as
counterfeiting while improving efficiency by eliminating redundant
reviews, we resolve to: 

Work together to improve international enforcement in the fight against
fraud and illegal spam and spyware in view of the enactment of the
Undertaking Spam, Spyware and Fraud Enforcement With Enforcers Beyond
Borders Act of 2006 (US SAFE WEB Act) in the United States and adoption
of the EU Consumer Protection Regulation. 

Establish a pilot project to study the similarities and differences in
requirements for the U.S. and EU's respective trade partnership programs
with the goal of developing a roadmap to facilitate mutual recognition
of those operators that are authorized as secure on the basis of
mutually acceptable security standards and requirements; and 

Strive to ensure that any mutually recognized trade partnership programs
provide comparable benefits to the other Party's recognized operators. 

Annex 6 

Financial Markets 

In light of the considerable differences that exist between financial
market structure and regulation on both sides of the Atlantic, and given
the consolidation underway globally and transatlantically in this
sector, we resolve to take steps, towards the convergence, equivalence
or mutual recognition, where appropriate, of regulatory standards based
on high quality principles. In particular, we resolve to maintain the
existing informal Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue and focus on the
following areas: 

Strengthen cooperation to promote smooth implementation of the Basel II
framework for banks, notably to address transitional issues and minimize
differences of implementation between the EU and United States; 

Promote conditions for the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
and International Financial Reporting Standards to be recognized in both
jurisdictions without the need for reconciliation by 2009 or possibly
sooner; 

Fully support roadmap discussions between the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board and the European Commission in the area of auditor
oversight; 

Advance convergence in the area of reinsurance regulation; 

Work on greater regulatory convergence towards highest quality and most
effective regulation and, where appropriate, mutual recognition in the
fields of securities regulation; and 

Increase cooperation between EU and U.S. financial regulators. 

Annex 7 

Innovation and Technology 

Acknowledging the importance of research and innovation to promoting
competitiveness and improving qualify of life, we resolve to: 

Conduct an exchange of innovation experts to discuss best practices; 

B. Exchange views on policy options for emerging technologies, or new
technological applications, in particular in the field of
nanotechnology, cloning or biotechnologies; 

Explore possibility to launch common research actions paving the way to
a level playing field for nanotechnology-based products in the
globalised market, namely co- and pre-normative research; 

Reinforce cooperation on eAccessibility, including continued EC
participation in the U.S. Access Board process of standards revision,
ensuring U.S. participation in the European standards-making process on
public procurements on eAccessibility, and considering wider cooperation
to improve the accessibility and mobility in the built environment; 

Work together on interoperability of electronic health record systems; 

Exchange best practices on all dimensions related to RFID; 

Develop a framework of regulation and payment policies that promote
innovation; 

Exchange knowledge and experience on the use of information and
communication technologies to improve traffic safety; 

Launch our Standards Dialogue as an overarching framework to discuss
specific standards-related issues; and 

Collaborate on innovation indicators and how data helps policymakers
understand what drives innovation and its affects on economic
performance