In the past there have been negotiations to resolve disputes for example in agricultural trade, aircraft manufacturing and steel products over such issues as import quotas or state subsidies. New technologies can give rise to friction as a result of different regulatory responses on each side of the Atlantic to the development of new food or pharmaceutical products, for example. There can be different ways of evaluating scientific evidence and applying it to the regulation of new products to satisfy consumers regarding safety, environmental effects, and other concerns. Efforts to arrive at common procedures to regulate electronic commerce are another source of potential disagreement. European Commissioner Karel Van Miert has also proposed that a multilateral agreement on competition rules be established through the World Trade Organization.
Trade sanctions imposed on a third country for foreign policy reasons are another source of dispute.
Legislation will be required to fully implement the summit agreements. They also launched a new initiative, the Transatlantic Economic Partnership, to eliminate or reduce many of the remaining barriers to the free flow of commerce across the Atlantic. Extra territoriality and EU Opposition to US Sanctions Policy Like the United States, the European Union is fully committed to promoting peace, democracy and respect for human rights, and to combating terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Adopted in 1996, ILSA and Helms-Burton seek to restrict international trade and investment by threatening US penalties upon third parties. Although the EU supports the objectives of US policy, it opposes any unilateral attempt by the US Congress to determine how non-US authorities should conduct their relations with other countries.