TRANSATLANTIC ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

DRAFT ACTION PLAN

Plan of action approuved by the Commission the 16 of september (at the initiative of Leon Brittan) on the Transtlantic Economic Patnership.

bevigam InfoCentre

transmitted by Paul Emile Dupret <pdupret@europarl.eu.int>
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1998

CONTENCE:

1. Introduction

2. Multilateral actions
2.1 General action
2.2 Specific actions
Dispute Settlement
Standstill
Implementation
Services
Agriculture
Trade Facilitation
Industrial Tariffs
Technical Barriers to Trade
Intellectual Property
Investment
Competition
Public Procurement
Trade and environment
Accessions
Developing countries
Electronic Commerce
Core Labour Standards
Corruption

3. Bilateral Action
3.1. Technical barriers to trade in industrial goods Regulatory cooperation
3.1.2. Mutual recognition
3.1.3. Alignment of standards and regulatory requirements
3.1.4 Industrial product safety
3.2 Services
3.2.1 Keeping markets open
3.2.2 Reduction of existing barriers through mutual recognition
3.3 Public procurement
3.4 Intellectual property
3.5. Food Safety, plant and animal health and biotechnology
3.5.1. Food safety, plant and animal health
3.5.2. Biotechnology
3.6 Environment
3.7 Labour
3.8 Consumers
3.9 Competition law procedures
3.10 Electronic Commerce

4. TEP Organisational and procedural Framework

5. Work programme for multilateral action

Services
1. New liberalisation
2. Greater GATS user-friendliness
3. Pro-competitive regulatory principles

TRANSATLANTIC ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

DRAFT ACTION PLAN

1. INTRODUCTION

At the London EU-US Summit of 18 May 1998, Summit leaders adopted a joint statement on the Transatlantic Economic Partnership (TEP) identifying a series of elements for an initiative to intensify and extend multilateral and bilateral cooperation and common actions in the field of trade and investment. As called for in that statement, the present document sets out a Plan identifying areas for common actions both bilaterally and multilaterally, with a timetable for achieving specific results. This Plan has been established through intensive and detailed discussions between the US Administration and the European Commission.

Some elements of the Plan will be pursued through cooperative actions (such as improved regulatory cooperation, cooperation among scientists, identification of priority sectors for the removal of obstacles, coordination of EU and US positions in international organisations). In other cases action will take the form of trade negotiations. The Plan also addresses the general organisational arrangements needed to realise the Transatlantic Economic Partnership via the actions identified in the present Plan.

2. MULTILATERAL ACTIONS

(À__À 7 and 8 of the TEP statement)

2.1 General action

In pursuing our multilateral objectives under the Plan we agreed that we needed as a matter of priority to closely involve other trading partners. As a general action, we will therefore seek close involvement from our other trading partners in our co-operative activities in the multilateral field, and exploit all oppportunities for dialogue with them.

We will set up a regular dialogue in order to ensure closer EU-US co-operation in the run-up to the 1999 Ministerial Conference in the WTO, with a view to in particular facilitating the process of comprehensive preparations. This dialogue will be realised in a pragmatic way and piloted by a series of meetings at ministerial and official level from now until the 1999 WTO Ministerial meeting. Our cooperative effort in the WTO context will not exclude cooperation for activities in other international fora._Moreover, our co-operation will continue thereafter (timeframe related to future negotiations/work programmes of particular issues).

On substance, the dialogue will start from the common objectives set out in paragraph 8 of the TEP statement, include a general overview of WTO issues and develop gradually more detailed coordinated positions on individual subjects for the WTO process. Our cooperation should be inclusive and not exclude any WTO topic a priori. Our objective will be to explore and compare each others policy positions on key issues on the multilateral agenda.  In some cases we may develop common positions or elaborate proposals to be submitted in multilateral negotiations.

TARGET DATE: We will establish as soon as possible, and in any case before the end of 1998 a rolling work programme for our dialogue for the period up to December 1999, to be progressively adapted according to results already achieved.

2.2 Specific actions

The following listing of issues that will feature in our  dialogue remains to some extent indicative, since the content of the dialogue will have to be adapted in the light of developments of the Geneva process. More specific co-operative actions will appear and emerge from our programme for dialogue.

Dispute Settlement

We will exchange views on respect for dispute settlement obligations, and where possible take common approaches to the DSU review, in particular as regards improvement of WTO transparency and the functioning of panels.

Standstill

We will exchange views on the terms of a future multilateral standstill including a standstill on services at the start of GATS 2000, to be adopted by WTO participants at the launch of negotiations.  We will commit ourselves to promote such a standstill.

Implementation

We will review the state of implementation of the various WTO agreements, identify potential problems, and discuss possible actions that we can take (e.g. technical assistance and/or other support measures) in order to ensure full implementation of WTO commitments by all WTO Members.

Services

Our co-operation will focus on the foreseen continuation of negotiations on the basis of GATS Article XIX with the aims of :
- increasing worldwide market access opportunities;
- addressing specific obstacles faced by several service sectors;
- improving of conditions for establishment;
- improving of cross-border commitments to make full use of the opportunity for electronic trading;
- examining of ways in which movement of persons necessary to the supply of services can be enhanced;
- and developing of additional disciplines to strengthen market access and guarantee that services can be supplied in a pro-competitive environment. As an illustrative example of how these aims will be developed during our dialogue in this and other multilateral elements of this Plan, section 5 contains more detailed proposals in the area of services.

Agriculture

We will exchange views on the negotiations which should take place in conformity with Article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture.

Trade Facilitation

Co-operative action will focus on  developing a framework of rules to improve, modernise, simplify and harmonise trade and customs procedures, in a way that incorporates and builds upon the work done in other international organisations, and that improves the trading environment by reducing unnecessary bureaucracy for the benefit of all, opening in particular new opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises.

Industrial Tariffs

We will ensure that enough preparatory work is done for future negotiations on industrial tariffs. We will seek significant market access improvements through the substantial further reduction of industrial tariffs across all sectors, aiming at greater harmonisation of tariff regimes among Members. We will exchange views on an approach including all industrial sectors, avoiding any a priori exclusion. We will in particular explore the feasibility of the progressive elimination of industrial tariffs within a timescale to be agreed.

Technical Barriers to Trade

We will examine ways to improve the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade_(TBT) Agreement in order to achieve a greater use of international standards and more predictability in recourse to technical requirements in international trade. Both sides will also actively explore which environmental concerns can be better addressed in the framework of the TBT Agreement.

Intellectual Property

Cooperation should, in particular, encompass all issues related to the TRIPs built-in agenda, the full and timely implementation and enforcement of TRIPs by developing countries by the January 2000 deadline and the consideration of topics for negotiations to improve the TRIPs Agreement. Close cooperation should be extended to issues other than TRIPs, such as, in particular, ensuring ratification and implementation of the two recent WIPO Treaties, encouraging accession to and implementation of the Trademark Law Treaty, encourage efforts in other fora to resolve domain name conflicts with trademarks on the Internet, and pursuing measures to fight all optical media piracy.

Investment

We will particularly focus on active participation in the Geneva process. As a first step, we will cooperate within the WTO Working Group on Trade and Investment established at the Singapore Ministerial meeting, with a view to securing a full factual report of a debate which points to the usefulness of establishing multilateral investment rules. Secondly, we will co-operate in the preparatory process for the 1999 Ministerial with a view to including investment on the agenda of new multilateral negotiations.

Competition

Enhanced cooperation will focus on active participation in the Geneva process with a view to ensure that decisions are taken at the 1999 Ministerial on the scope for negotiations in the WTO/next steps within the WTO. We will exchange views on how to develop a framework of binding competition rules encompassing inter alia: key elements of a competition law structure for adoption by all WTO members, including enforcement; common approaches to tackle anti-competitive practices with an impact on trade and investment; and provisions on international cooperation.

Public Procurement

We attach importance to the establishment and maintenance of transparent, open, competitive and accountable procurement policies and practices worldwide and to that end we share the aim of reaching a single and coherent set of multilateral rules within the WTO on procurement. We will continue to co-operate closely with a view to completing the work of the Working Group on Transparency in Government Procurement in accordance_with the mandate by the end of 1999, and to advancing GATS work on procurement of services in areas other than transparency.  We will work together to promote progress in the ongoing review of the plurilateral Government Procurement Agreement, and to ensure that GPA obligations are properly and fully implemented and enforced in all member countries. We consider that, in looking to the further development of the multilateral trading system, the WTO must continue to address the issue of procurement at multilateral level, and will work together with other trading partners to ensure that public procurement is on the agenda of next of negotiations.

Trade and environment

Our co-operation will focus on how to incorporate environmental concerns into WTO work with the aim of giving full weight to environmental considerations throughout the WTO agreements. Furthermore, we will work towards developing a set of trade and environmental approaches  to guide our joint action in relevant fora. In the run-up to the planned High Level Meeting (scheduled between February and May), we need to seek EU/US agreement on how to approach and prioritise environment-specific issues for these discussions (which would cover, inter-alia: Multilateral Environment Agreements, Product and Production Methods).

Accessions

On accessions, we will consider with the US steps to ensure the rapid accession to the WTO of a number of countries which are already well advanced in the accession process.  We will also review together the strategy to be followed in relation to a number of major accessions,including China and Russia.

Developing countries

We will seek to ensure fuller participation of developing countries in the WTO and to improve substantially the trading opportunities and integration of the least developed countries, in particular through the implementation of the results of the High Level meeting on Least Developed Countries. We will furthermore seek to undertake that trade and development are firmly on the WTO agenda, and that particular constraints of developing countries are properly assessed and adequately taken into account.

Electronic Commerce

A major proportion of the EU-US Summit Statement of December 1997 implies multilateral action, which shall include promoting adequate implementation of the telecommunications agreement and completion of ITA II, both in the run-up to the OECD Ottawa conference of October and_the implementation of the WTO Ministerial decision of May 1998. We will aim at coordinating our positions in order to ensure that the WTO develops a comprehensive work programme, with the relevant Councils and working groups examining each of the aspects identified in the work programme.

Core Labour Standards

This subject is not, at present, part of the WTO Work Programme. However, the EU and the US should promote full and timely implementation of agreed follow-up work of the new ILO Declaration on core labour standards. Furthermore, the EU and US should support the WTO and the ILO Secretariats collaborating on research, reports and studies and should suggest appropriate topics.

Corruption

We will, as indicated in the TEP Statement, continue our dialogue on combating corruption.  We will exchange views in particular within the OECD following the adoption of the Bribery Convention (implementation but also ongoing issues such as the programme for further work).

3. BILATERAL ACTION

3.1. TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE IN INDUSTRIAL GOODS

3.1.1. Regulatory cooperation

In order to improve (1) the bilateral dialogue between EU and US regulators and (2) the effective access to the regulatory procedures of public authorities by government authorities and private interests on both sides we will take the following actions, taking into account the requirements of our respective domestic regulatory procedures, such as transparency and effective public participation, as well as the views of our business communities, notably the TABD and of all interested parties: Existing bilateral mechanisms

(a) Prepare an illustrative summary of existing bilateral cooperation between EU and US regulatory authorities.
     Such a summary  need not be exhaustive, but should be capable of providing a clear and meaningful indication of EU-US bilateral regulatory cooperation, including cooperation in the framework of multilateral institutions (e.g. under the WTO TBT Agreement) and other fora. Such a_review should include, for instance, the type of information exchanged, the effectiveness of information exchange; the continuity of the dialogue over time (or lack thereof); (in)sufficient frequency of meetings; timing of dialogue in relation to the internal regulatory procedures of either party; etc.

Target date for (a): end January 1999

(b) Identify and implement jointly defined principles/guidelines of effective regulatory cooperation.
     Such principles/guidelines will build upon the Joint Statement of December 1997 that refers to consultation whenever possible in the early stages of drafting regulations and to greater reliance of each other's technical resources and expertise. Further work should also be done, for example, on the need to move the consultation process as far upstream as possible in the regulatory process, as well as on the importance of promoting the exchange of technical and scientific knowledge as a basis for regulatory activities.

(c) Identify possible improvements in existing bilateral regulatory cooperation on the basis of the jointly defined principles/guidelines.

(d) Identify areas where bilateral regulatory cooperation could be expanded or established ex novo on the basis of the common principles.

Target date for (b), (c) and (d): end June 1999

Internal regulatory procedures of public authorities

(a) Jointly review US and EU regulatory procedures.
     This review will be based on a comparison of regulatory procedures in the EU and the US, notably with regard to their transparency and the possibility for governments and all other interested parties to have an input in and make effective contributions to such regulatory procedures.

Target date for (a): April 1999

(b) Examine the results of the review of the respective regulatory procedures and identify ways and means to improve access to each other's regulatory procedures.

Target date for (b): end of 1999

3.1.2. Mutual recognition

We will endeavour to extend the current MRA to new sectors and to achieve that, as far as possible, goods legally produced and marketed in one of the parties will be allowed into the territory of the other party without facing technical regulations or other regulatory requirements additional to, or different from those that have to be met in the exporting party; or, failing_this, that any additional or different requirements to be met by the imported product are reduced to a minimum consistent with our high level of protection for consumers, human, animal and plant health, safety and the environment. To this end we will:

(a) Exchange views on sectors where there appears to be an interest in pursuing one or more "levels" of mutual recognition, notably on the basis of industry recommendations.
     This exchange of views should be accompanied by a description of laws, regulations, and standards applicable to such sectors.

(b) Exchange views on ways and means to achieve elimination or reduction of unnecessary additional or different regulatory requirements (including resort to the concept of functional equivalence of technical regulations and other regulatory requirements) with a view to concrete application in the bilateral context.

(c) Identify specific sectors in which negotiations appear possible, with a view to extending the MRA on conformity assessment and/or to establishing mutual recognition of (equivalent) technical regulations or regulatory requirements.

(d) Where no form/level of mutual recognition appears feasible or desirable for a particular sector, determine whether other actions or arrangements, if any, are possible in order to reduce or remove regulatory barriers to trade in that sector, while promoting domestic regulatory goals.

Target date for (a), (b), (c) and (d): end January 1999

(e) Negotiate new Sectoral Annexes to the current MRA.

(f) Negotiate the elimination or reduction of unnecessary additional or different technical or other regulatory requirements in specific sectors while promoting domestic regulatory goals. This should include, where feasible, the establishment of a framework for mutual recognition of (equivalent) technical regulations or regulatory requirements and of sectoral annexes to this new framework in at least a minimum of sectors which are economically significant in Transatlantic trade.

(g) Identify sectors where negotiations could usefully be pursued beyond end-1999.

Target date for (e), (f) and (g): end 1999

3.1.3. Alignment of standards and regulatory requirements

In light of EU-US involvement in and commitment to international standardisation activities, as well as of the work being carried out in the framework of the WTO TBT Agreement, we will:

(a) Assess existing work in the field of international standardisation_(e.g. planning, adoption, transposition and utilisation of international standards) to determine ways to develop closer EU-US cooperation to overcome obstacles that might hinder progress in this area and to better serve EU and US health, safety, quality and environmental needs.

Target date for (a): end January 1999

(b) Identify mechanisms, which promote the use of international standards and could create incentives to base domestic regulatory requirements on international standards.

(c) Identify ways of encouraging closer and more structured links between international, regional and national standards bodies.

Target date for (b) and (c): end of 1999

3.1.4 Industrial product safety

In the interest of consumer protection and transparency, we will identify ways of developing cooperation between enforcement agencies on potentially dangerous products, and eventually link the EU and US Rapid Alert Systems on dangerous products.

3.2 Services

3.2.1 Keeping markets open

Service providers can largely already operate under national treatment conditions, but the present degree of market access is not completely WTO-bound.

We will formulate a joint declaration of our intention to preserve these good conditions and to consider  ways to improve on them.

We will also establish an arrangement to provide for future early exchanges of views on any  policy proposals that either side believes capable of having an adverse impact on business conditions for service providers.

target date: end of 1998

3.2.2 Reduction of existing barriers through mutual recognition

We will identify some sectors which can be "spearhead projects" on which final deals would create substantial mutual recognition. We believe that architects and engineers provide promising cases for such treatment. Other cases will be selected after careful study of the implications.

target date: end of 1998

We will develop a framework for these and future sectoral agreements, inspired both by the current US-EU MRA on goods and by the relevant GATS provisions, including the Working Party on Professional services.

We will conduct negotiations on  the "spearhead" sector agreements we have identified.

Mutual recognition for services will be complemented by the elimination of market access restrictions in sectors where this is needed in order to generate new business opportunities. Any market access commitment would need to be available on an MFN basis, but would not create opportunities for third country service providers to gain access to either market, because the recognition element of the MRA, on which such access depends, would be open only to EU and US service providers, and only extended to other countries when both EU and US governments decide that third countries meet the conditions to join the mutual recognition agreement.

We will also identify a second wave of sectors for follow-on work within agreed deadlines beyond 1999.

target date: end of 1999

3.3 Public procurement

We will explore possibilities for the further expansion of market access opportunities for US and EU companies in US and EU government procurement markets with a view to  ultimately achieving national treatment for our supplies, suppliers and service providers, with only limited and specified exemptions. To achieve this objective, we will pursue four principal lines of actions:

(1) The gradual elimination of exceptions to commitments taken in the context of the GPA and the 1995 EC-US bilateral agreement.

(2) Work together to promote the expansion of existing coverage at all levels of government for both goods and services, for example by increasing the number of entities which open procurement opportunities to both EU and US supplies, suppliers and service providers and by increasing services coverage. We will simultaneously seek to agree that foreign owned companies established in either the US or the EC should be treated in the same way as US or EC owned companies.

(3) Identifying conditions that could permit the  removal of sanctions imposed by both sides in 1993.

(4) The provision of equal access to procurement initiatives in, for example, the field of electronic tendering at all levels of government. In this area we additionally agree that it is important to strengthen co-operation, to regularly exchange information on our respective systems, new developments and experiences gained and to ensure that electronic procurement is taken full account of in our own regimes and in relevant international instruments in a transparent way.

target date : The members of the GPA have agreed  on 25 June 1998 to seek to conclude the Review of that Agreement by end 1999.  Recognising that a successful outcome to our bilateral discussions will provide a catalyst for parallel negotiations with other GPA members in the context of the current Review of the GPA - we should seek to agree on the  further opening our respective markets to each other by the end of 1999

3.4 Intellectual property

Although the TRIPs Agreement already offers a strong basis for the protection of IPR, further improvement of the protection  available to rightholders should be addressed in EU-US bilateral relations.  The issues to be addressed involve both short-term and long-term objectives:

(1) As a matter of priority, negotiations should aim at reaching concrete results as regards:

(a) measures to reduce costs to obtain and enforce patent rights;

(b) sharing of results of patent examination procedures by EPO and USPTO; and

(c) increased protection of EC geographical indications in the US. (Negotiations on a wine agreement, including the protection of geographical indications, are currently under way).

(2) We will also begin discussion, in the field of patents, of the issues to be negotiated in order to achieve replacement of the current first to invent system by the first to file system in the US.

(3) In addition, a series of mid to long-term objectives should be examined. The issues listed below require further preparatory work. No timeframe for the achievement of concrete results can therefore be specified at this stage.

(a) acceptance or mutual recognition of patent search processes and results by EPO and USPTO;

(b) where concrete problems arise from government use in the US, full protection and effective enforcement of patent rights;

(c) an equivalent protection period of 6 to 10 years for confidential data submitted by pharmaceutical companies to support the approval of new products;

(d) sui generis protection of databases in the US through adoption of appropriate legislation;

(e) reduction of costs of protection in the field of textile and clothing by facilitating the granting and enforcement of design patents in the US; and

(f) introduction of artists' resale rights in the US.

3.5. Food Safety, plant and animal health and biotechnology

While in many areas formal or informal structures for cooperation already exist, there is scope, in certain cases, to either deepen existing dialogue or to create new structures.

3.5.1. Food safety, plant and animal health

(a) ensure that conflicts should not arise through lack of dialogue at an early enough stage in the legislative/regulatory process to permit each side to express its view on the planned legislation of the other, we envisage a system of early warning.

The US side has recently created an interagency food safety contact point in USTR, which is informed weekly by the relevant agencies of any potential new development in this area.  A similar contact point will be established in the Commission, which will gather the equivalent information weekly; the two contact points will communicate regularly in order to keep officials informed of food safety developments in the other's pipeline, to facilitate the flow of information on, and reciprocal input in, such potential initiatives and where relevant to facilitate objective dialogue between scientific experts on the two sides.

(b) In view of the important role of the control and inspection services of each side, and the potential for conflict if there is not a common understanding of that role, we are reviewing the possibility of an arrangement under which US and EC officials from the respective scientific and technical agencies would participate in "exchange programmes" to become more familiar with their counterparts' respective food safety systems regarding_inspection and control procedures.

(c) In the interests of protection and transparency, identify ways of developing cooperation between enforcement agencies on dangerous food products. We are also reviewing the possibility that the US and the Community rapid alert systems regarding dangerous food be interconnected.

target date: december 1998

(d) A more structured dialogue in the area of plant health will be established.

(e) We are also examining the possibility of  closer coordination in other related areas such as pesticides legislation (in the US) and vitamins and minerals legislation (in the EC).

(f) Given the growing role of Risk Assessment in the preparation of food safety legislation, at the domestic as well as at the international level, the EU is developing a common methodology and criteria for risk assessment in the field of food borne diseases, in particular regarding microbial contamination.

We will examine the possibility of establishing a link between the American Risk Assessment Consortium and the European side in order to exchange information, views and scientific comments about development of new risk assessment methodology. A proactive relationship in this area would avoid misunderstanding and would boost the scientific risk assessment approach in different international organisations such as Codex Alimentarius.

target date: december 1998

3.5.2. Biotechnology

Given the number of bilateral issues arising in the sector of biotechnology we will strengthen our bilateral dialogue. That dialogue currently takes place in several different fora with the result that all aspects of the issue may not be covered and no single group meets regularly to monitor the different discussions. We therefore believe that it is necessary to establish an over-arching group whose mandate shall be:

to monitor progress of the dialogue on the various technical issues carried out in existing groups, taking into account their potential trade effects;

to seek to increase and enhance scientific and regulatory cooperation and information exchange and promote transparency_and information of consumers.

The group will not replace or duplicate any existing group but will include participants from those existing groups. It will take into account the views of interested parties.

An early step towards accelerating the regulatory process would be to encourage simultaneous applications for environmental and safety assessments in the US and a Member State; the possibility of a pilot project to this effect is under consideration.

3.6 Environment

Both sides agree that a Transatlantic Environment Dialogue (TAED) involving a broad spectrum of environment stakeholders and NGOs should be fostered in order to inform the TEP process. Accordingly, we will work together to facilitate the launch of a Transatlantic Environmental Dialogue before the December 1998 Summit.  We will establish a TEP Environment Group, to discuss and negotiate a TEP environment work-plan.The work of the TEP Environment Group will cover, inter alia:

a set of common approaches on environmental issues including on trade and environment;

promoting greater co-operation between US and European scientists and regulators on environment issues with trade and economic implications;

informing trade negotiators of the potential impact of other TEP negotiations on health, safety and environmental interests, including impacts on regulatory and enforcement issues;

developing common approaches towards MEAS with a potential impact on international trade and competitiveness, and towards trade and environment related matters.

target date: january 1999

3.7 Labour

Worker rights considerations are included in the GSP schemes of both the US and the EU, but these programmes operate differently. In order to open the way towards bilateral co-operation on labour issues, the US will consider the introduction of incentive-based provisions in their new GSP. We will_promote this positive approach with the other countries that maintain a GSP scheme. Bilateral consultations on the operation of those incentive-based systems will be held as needed.   Recognising that voluntary codes of conduct are an effective tool for leveraging the power of the business community to improve working conditions worldwide. We will ensure effective follow-up to the conclusions of the recent Symposium on Codes of Conduct and of further such meetings.

  We will continue our dialogue with respectively the business and labour advisory groups and with the social partners and to solicit their ideas for additional Transatlantic labour related projects.

  We will encourage the Transatlantic Labour Dialogue (TALD), launched in April 1998 to feed into the TEP process.   We will fund specific ILO projects on child labour.

3.8 Consumers

We will ensure that the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) to be launched in September 1998 feeds into the TEP process.

3.9 Competition law procedures

We will give priority to applying the Positive Comity Agreement, concluded in 1998, to concrete cases, demonstrating that this instrument has a valuable practical content. We do not exclude the possibility of further action in this area, as it may become necessary.

3.10 Electronic Commerce

We will focus our joint efforts on carrying out specific actions on trade facilitation (e.g. electronic availability of tendering and customs documentation; EDI; electronic invoicing)and  on stepping up work on the identification of legal and regulatory barriers to e-commerce with a view to the removal of unnecessary obstacles whilst respecting public policy objectives, building on achievements such as the European Initiative in Electronic Commerce and the US Framework for Global Electronic Commerce. We will intensify our current bilateral work on the implementation of the December 1997 Joint Statement to facilitate and promote consumer confidence in electronic commerce.  Transatlantic pilot experiments should explore and support the TEP in areas such as trade facilitation, government procurement, electronic delivery of_services, and others. Such experiments could be financially supported by both sides.

4. TEP ORGANISATIONAL AND PROCEDURAL FRAMEWORK

The TEP requires some re-focusing of the current organisation of our economic relations. It will take as its point of departure existing NTA structures. The overriding objective should be to create an organisational framework which enables both sides to realise the full potential of our partnership and implement the TEP statement and Action Plan.

The EU-US Summit will continue to provide the necessary political level impulse and steering for the realisation of TEP objectives, including for the negotiations of the various trade agreements foreseen in the TEP, bearing mind the need to achieve a balanced result. The Summit will also be the forum to which all subsidiary bodies will report.

Between the twice-yearly Summits, we will hold Cabinet-level meetings, to maintain the political momentum and to resolve, as far as possible, problems requiring deliberation at political level.

Senior officials, as part of the activity of the Senior level group (SLG), and assisted as necessary by ad hoc or specialised working groups, will fulfil the following tasks:

preparing the economic and trade aspects of the Summits and Cabinet-level meetings;

monitor and report on the realisation of TEP objectives;

monitor implementation of the agreements reached under TEP as well as of other bilateral agreements, as appropriate;

identify and review co-operative objectives on an ongoing basis:

provide the forum which can receive recommendations made by business, environment, consumer and labour dialoguesÄ_Ä (cf. 's 15 and 16 of the Statement);

provide the forum for bilateral consultation on any matter of trade and investment relevance, also assuming an early warning function;

provide the forum for preventing conflicts, so as to avert recourse to formal dispute settlement, where possible.

In the framework of sectoral agreements, where commitments would be entered into, specific institutions will be established as appropriate. In the area of regulatory alignment/convergence and mutual recognition these could be similar to those foreseen in the existing EU-US MRA.  Particular attention will be given to assessing the environmental impacts of_proposed TEP bilateral sectoral agreements.

In addition, we will give our active and full support to the current efforts of the European Parliament and the US Congress to increase their cooperation on TEP-related issues and to contribute to the TEP process.

target date: November 1998

5. WORK PROGRAMME FOR MULTILATERAL ACTION

The section on multilateral action in the draft action plan (section 2) gives a rather general indication of activities to be undertaken to follow-up on the multilateral items listed in the TEP declaration. Detailed action in several areas will be worked out in the upcoming weeks and months, as our preparations for the Geneva process are being defined more clearly. We will prepare detailed actions for our multilateral dialogue, which is starting in September 1998. By way of example, on services, which is the area to which most attention has so far been paid, we can already agree on the following actions:

We will work together to lead the GATS 2000 process to achieve the greatest possible liberalisation on a short timetable.

1. NEW LIBERALISATION

We will exchange views on ways to achieve the highest possible level of liberalisation in the framework of the GATS 2000 process. In particular, we will work together, to the extent possible, to identify the most ambitious agenda of liberalisation commitments, on relevant services sectors. We will also develop, where appropriate, a common approach to be tabled in the run-up to the third WTO ministerial in Geneva, on the basis that both sides would implement substantial liberalisation on defined lines if a critical mass of partner countries adopted equivalent commitments. US and EU officials will exploit all opportunities for joint dialogue with third countries, in order to secure broad-based support for our ambitious objectives.

target date: May 1999

EU and US officials will work together to maintain the momentum of QUAD preparations for GATS 2000.

EU and US officials will encourage all possible sectoral dialogue between service industries, in order to ensure the closest possible collaboration_in all sectors, based on the significant increase in such industry-to-industry dialogue in recent years.

target date:December 1999 continued throughout Gats 2000 Negotiations

2. GREATER GATS USER-FRIENDLINESS

EU and US officials will work to promote  greater clarity as to what commitments mean, greater harmony between the definitions of services activities on which commitments are being offered and, most important, a higher level of commitments. These actions are intended to assist US and EU service providers worldwide to exploit the opportunities offered by GATS 2000 more forcefully, since it is in ist present form, and at the present level of commitments not easy for exporters of services to use.

One improvement often discussed would be to secure a general commitment to grant National Treatment and unconditional market access in all sectors and in all "modes of delivery", and to record any exceptions to them with greater clarity through a form of negative listing. This approach merits further examination, although it has to be acknowledged that it may not be viable, especially for fast moving and sensitive sectors.

We will also examine other ways of achieving the objectives of openness and clarity. For this purpose, EU and US officials will establish a work programme on this theme, covering the following major tasks:

(1) Identify obstacles to business understanding and use of the GATS (eg. vague or overlapping definitions of what activities are covered by a commitment) and recommend how to resolve them.

(2) Develop negotiating techniques which would create more general top-down rules in GATS subject to possible exceptions and without prejudice to the principles of the acquis communautaire.

(3) To test these techniques on some sectors, using current US/EU GATS schedules and current US/EU domestic policies as the model. 

target date: first progress report end-November 1998

3. PRO-COMPETITIVE REGULATORY PRINCIPLES

EU and US officials will establish pro-competitive guidelines for national regulators in order to ensure that regulatory requirements do not create technical barriers to services trade. This will be a  major objective for GATS 2000, based on GATS Article VI and with the experiences gained with the_specific provisions contained in the Telecommunications Reference Paper.

This approach will include the following steps:

- To conclude the accountancy deal now on the table in the form of a GATS Council decision, on the basis that we will work together to improve it further during the GATS 2000 Round, and seek its incorporation either in the national commitments of our trading partners, or in an Annex to GATS, so that it would be formally ratified at the conclusion of those negotiations.

target date: end 1998

- To develop a set of ambitious regulatory guidelines in the light of the accountancy, telecommunications and Article VI precedents, applying them to key sectors selected in consultation with industry.

target date:selection of sectors of sectors end 1998

guidelines: May 1999