EU, U.S. Machine Tool Associations Issue Joint Statement on TTIP
The machine tool sector stresses abolishing tariffs and more to reduce trade barriers.
Posted: November 28, 2015
Together, AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology (McLean, VA) and CECIMO – European Association of the Machine Tool Industries (Brussels, Belgium) represent over 2,000 manufacturers from both sides of the Atlantic. The two organizations advocate for better market opportunities and support free trade. AMT and CECIMO welcome the commitment expressed by the European Union and the United States for a more comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The highly innovative machine tool sector stresses the need to tackle a wider area, beyond only abolishing of tariffs, to provide concrete and measurable reductions to trade barriers.
Divergences between EU and U.S. regulations create different technical requirements, specifications, standards, conformity assessment procedures and licensing procedures. The lack of regulatory convergence forces companies to invest time and resources in duplicate procedures in order to demonstrate compliance. More compatible standards could lead to considerable savings and increased production efficiency in the manufacturing sector. AMT and CECIMO stand for efforts to standardize the testing procedures and authorization processes.
The difference between EU and U.S. regulations often lies in the use of different legal tools for the same public policy choices. TTIP should enhance cooperation between the EU and the U.S. to ensure that existing and new regulations are complementary and minimize the burden on companies. Tackling regulatory divergences between two countries will benefit businesses of all sizes and increase transatlantic trade flows.
Trading countries should aim for the mutual recognition of technical requirements for machine tools in line with the international consensus-based standards. TTIP is an opportunity to address the challenges of the internationalization of small-to-midsize enterprises (SMEs). In the EU, companies with fewer than 250 employees represent 90 percent of business and 66 percent of the workforce. In the U.S., companies with fewer than 500 employees represent 99 percent of business and about half of total employment. We support measures that improve the access of SMEs to information and markets.
TTIP should enhance transparency in rulemaking and private sector engagement, and increase opportunities to provide timely inputs. AMT and CECIMO stress the importance of transparent and predictable regulatory environment for the machine tool industry. We call for transparency by regulators and competent authorities in providing information on planned regulatory acts and roadmaps.
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