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Trade efforts between the U.S. and E.U. should be improved by coordinating regulatory efforts.
In an important and under-appreciated May 3, 2011, Federal Register notice, the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration (ITA) requested public comments concerning regulatory cooperation between the U.S. and the E.U. that would help eliminate or reduce unnecessary divergences in regulation and in standards used in regulation that impede U.S. exports. Of critical importance, ITA acknowledged that the main impediments to greater trade and investment between the nations "are not tariffs or quotas, but rather differences in regulatory measures." This could be an important opportunity.
Background
President Obama linked trade to job creation when he announced the National Export Initiative in his 2010 State of the Union address and "set the ambitious goal of doubling U.S. exports in the next five years to support millions of jobs here at home." Since 2005, the U.S. has worked with the European Commission, within the framework of the...