EU-US trade agreement: the issues of consumer protection and food safety

Briefing 05-12-2012

Non-tariff barriers and regulatory divergence are considered as the main challenge for a potential comprehensive EU-US trade and investment agreement. Stemming from different values, public preferences and different approaches towards risk management, these regulatory issues are greatest in the fields of protection of health, safety and the environment. Efforts in transatlantic regulatory cooperation date back to the 1990s, but progress has been difficult to achieve.