Trade Policy

BDI and DIHK submitted comments on the work of the U.S.-EU High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth, responding to a request by DG Trade. Please find their contributions below.

DIHK COM Consultation on EU-US Working Group on Jobs and Growth

BDI Annex A - Transatlantic Business Associations statement on the HLWG

BDI Annex B - Comments regulatory cooperation to the DoC as of June 2, 2011

BDI COM Consultation on EU-US Working Group on Jobs and Growth

RGIT calls for a deep and comprehensive bilateral initiative in transatlantic trade. All relevant areas including tariffs, non-tariff barriers, services, investment, public procurement IPR and human resources should be covered. The first priority should be the harmonization of standards and regulations.

RGIT, DIHK, BDI and the German American Chambers of Commerce (GACCs) have been strong supporters of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) since its creation at the 2007 EU-U.S. Summit in Washington, DC. Especially with respect to the reduction of non-tariff barriers we consider the TEC to be an extremely important institution. Nevertheless, we can do much more to facilitate bilateral trade in goods and services, investment, regulatory cooperation, government procurement and intellectual property rights protection.

The full comment can be found here (PDFs):

Docket USTR 2012 RGIT

Docket USTR 2012 Annex 1 - Feedback from German Companies and the U.S.

Docket USTR 2012 Annex 2 - Comments on regulatory update to the DoC as of June 2 2011

On June 30, 2011, David Campbell gave a presentation on the U.S. Export Initiative, Foreign Direct Investment and the new SELECT USA Initiative during the “Hamburg America Days” of the Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg, Germany. His German-language presentation can be found here (PDF).

The office of the Representative of German Industry and Trade in Washington D.C. (RGIT) submitted comment on behalf of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and in cooperation with the German American Chambers of Commerce (GACC) in the United States, to the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). The DOC sought public comment on options for enhancing the E.U.-U.S. economic relationship by reducing or eliminating divergent standards and regulations.

Companies active in the wind sector recommended that the U.S. government permit self-certification. This would stimulate the market. Electro-technical and electronics companies commented that U.S. standards ought to adopt or be modeled after international standards so that identical products can be produced and sold in multiple countries. Transatlantic cooperation in E-mobility should be deepened as well. This issue is already on the agenda of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC). The GACC provides a range of services to 3,000 member companies located throughout the United States.

RGIT’s public comment can be found here (PDF).

The Association of German Chambers of Commerce (DIHK) demands that foreign trade policy should enhance the opportunities for German companies in a globalizing economy and strengthen their competitiveness in international markets. Therefore the following guidelines are given: condemn protectionism, promote trade liberalization, avoid redundant structures in foreign trade promotion, no changes to the rules of origin in customs law, eliminate the bureaucracy in foreign trade law and harmonize it, development policy - let’s take a chance on more commerce. (more: PDF and Link to German-language full-text version