Free Trade Agreements and Patterns of Risk Regulation in the EU and the US
Transatlantic regulatory patterns overall and in four key sectors: food, automobiles, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals indicate that the EU risk regulation is not always or generally more stringent or precautionary than the US regulation. In fact, the reality is a complex mix of parity and particularity. While there is overall EU-US similarity, there is also variation. In some risk matters, and across and within sectors, there is more precaution in Europe, whereas in others it may be in the US. Even if they are unusual deviations, and even if they go in both directions, transatlantic regulatory differences can still pose barriers to trade that may in some cases warrant harmonization. However, regulatory variation can also be the basis for learning to improve future regulatory design, both by comparing outcomes across regulations in different jurisdictions, and by planning adaptive regulation over time. International regulatory cooperation does not simply mean adopting the current standard of one side or the other. It can also involve collaboration to reviewing existing regulations and designing new approaches that improve outcomes for all.
Study
External author
International Risk Governance Council (Switzerland)
About this document
Publication type
Policy area
- Agriculture and Rural Development
- Consumer Protection
- Contract Law, Commercial Law and Company Law
- Employment
- Environment
- European Added Value
- Evaluation of Law and Policy in Practice
- Food Safety
- Industry
- Intellectual Property Law
- Internal Market and Customs Union
- International Trade
- Private international law and judicial cooperation in civil matters
- Public international law
- Research Policy
- Tourism
- Transport
Keyword
- America
- chemical product
- chemistry
- common commercial policy
- economic geography
- European construction
- EUROPEAN UNION
- food safety
- foodstuffs legislation
- free-trade agreement
- GEOGRAPHY
- health
- INDUSTRY
- international affairs
- INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- international trade
- liberalisation of trade
- motor vehicle
- negotiation of an agreement (EU)
- organisation of transport
- pharmaceutical legislation
- pharmaceutical product
- political geography
- PRODUCTION, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH
- SOCIAL QUESTIONS
- technical regulations
- technology and technical regulations
- TRADE
- trade policy
- transatlantic relations
- TRANSPORT
- United States