[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 632 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 632

  Urging the United States and the European Union to work together to 
                  strengthen the transatlantic market.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             December 9 (legislative day, December 8), 2006

 Mr. Bennett submitted the following resolution; which was considered 
                             and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Urging the United States and the European Union to work together to 
                  strengthen the transatlantic market.

Whereas a robust and cooperative transatlantic economic relationship is in the 
        mutual interest of the United States and the European Union;
Whereas the strength of the transatlantic economic relationship underpins global 
        economic stability and resiliency;
Whereas the United States-European Union economic relationship is the largest 
        bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world, generating 
        roughly $3,000,000,000,000 in total commercial sales annually and 
        providing employment for up to 14,000,000 people in the United States 
        and the European Union;
Whereas, at the 2004 United States-European Union Summit, President George W. 
        Bush and the leadership of the European Union jointly pledged to 
        strengthen the transatlantic economic relationship by improving 
        regulatory cooperation through the Roadmap for United States-European 
        Union Regulatory Cooperation and Transparency;
Whereas, at the 2005 United States-European Union Summit, the United States and 
        the European Union agreed upon numerous measures to expand economic 
        ties, including the establishment of an official dialogue on regulatory 
        cooperation between the Office of Management and Budget of the United 
        States and the European Commission;
Whereas, at the 2006 United States-European Union Summit, President George W. 
        Bush, European Union Council President Wolfgang Schuessel, and European 
        Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso declared in a joint statement, 
        ``We will redouble our efforts to promote economic growth and innovation 
        and reduce the barriers to transatlantic trade and investment by 
        implementing all aspects of the Transatlantic Economic Initiative . . . 
        .'';
Whereas, on November 9, 2006, the United States and the European Union held the 
        second economic ministerial meeting to further the implementation of the 
        agreements of the 2005 and 2006 United States-European Union Summits, 
        focusing on regulatory cooperation, intellectual property rights, energy 
        security, and innovation; and
Whereas non-tariff trade barriers such as regulatory divergence continue to pose 
        the most significant obstacles to transatlantic trade, including in 
        areas such as pharmaceuticals, automobile safety, information and 
        communications technology standards, cosmetics, consumer product safety, 
        consumer protection enforcement cooperation, unfair commercial 
        practices, nutritional labeling, food safety, maritime equipment, eco-
        design, chemicals, energy efficiency, telecommunications and 
        radiocommunications equipment, and medical devices: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports efforts by the United States and the European 
        Union to fulfill commitments made in recent United States-
        European Union Summits to implement all aspects of the United 
        States-European Union Initiative to Enhance Transatlantic 
        Economic Integration and Growth;
            (2) calls upon the leadership of the United States and the 
        European Union to identify and eliminate unnecessary regulatory 
        compliance costs and non-tariff barriers to trade and 
        investment at an accelerated pace; and
            (3) urges the leadership of the United States and the 
        European Union at the 2007 United States-European Union Summit 
        to agree to--
                    (A) a target date of 2015 for completing the 
                transatlantic market; and
                    (B) a jointly funded, cooperatively led study of 
                existing obstacles to creating a transatlantic market, 
                including sector-by-sector estimates of the costs of 
                existing barriers to trade and investment, the costs 
                and benefits of removing the barriers identified, and a 
                timetable for removing those barriers.
                                 <all>