With news reporters distracted by WTO negotiations, the United States and European Union have been cooking up plans for a new free trade agreement, a “barrier-free transatlantic marketplace,” scheduled to be completed by 2015.

If business interests get their way, consumer protections on both sides of the Atlantic will be watered down with the goal of removing “barriers to trade.” Any state-level regulations could also be challenged in these negotiations.

Already, officials from the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and other US agencies have been meeting with EU officials to discuss issues such as meat safety, food labeling, and chemical regulations, and more. Whichever side has stricter rules will be pressured to lower their standards so that they are the same on both sides of the Atlantic.

Some areas where US policies could be challenged include:

• Professional qualifications, including state-level licensing
• Small Business Act
• Preferences for US or in-state companies that bid on procurement contracts
• School systems placing restrictions on food purchases (antibiotic-free etc.)
• Immigration policies

In June 2005, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution that supported the “active expansion of the transatlantic relationship.” ¹ Trade talks will continue at the EU-US Summit in June 2006.

Check out our press release on US-EU trade.

¹ S. Res. 178. “Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the United States-European Union Summit.” 109th Congress. June 20 2005.