[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S11827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  URGING THE UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN UNION TO WORK TOGETHER TO 
                  STRENGTHEN THE TRANSATLANTIC MARKET

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 632, submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 632) urging the United States and the 
     European Union to work together to strengthen the 
     transatlantic market.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider 
be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 632) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 632

       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.

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