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European Union & The U.S To Adopt Common Auto Safety Standards
The European Union and the United States of America could soon adopt a unified safety standard for vehicles manufactured on both sides of the Atlantic.
The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Alliance) have expressed their interest in signing an agreement under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) which would establish common safety standards for the production of vehicles.
A final decision could be made and a deal signed if discussions bear fruit at the fourth round of negotiations set to take place soon in Brussels.
A deal would not necessarily set up new rules, but the auto industry on both sides hope to achieve 'regulatory convergence' of existing US and EU auto safety standards. This can happen only if existing standards of both the U.S and the E.U are recognized as equivalent.
If the standards are recognised as equivalent it would allow vehicles and related components to be easily imported and exported between the U.S & EU without spending extra to make changes. In other words, a vehicle homologated for use in the EU would be easier to import into the U.S without making too many or no changes at all.
The TTIP would be responsible to ensure future divergence on new regulations in the EU and US do not happen.
Ever since the announcement of TTIP the three organizations have been working to establish that the level of safety standards adopted by the US and EU for vehicle safety are essentially equivalent.
Considering that the EU and the US account for 32 percent of global auto production and 36 percent of global auto sales combined, the adoption of common safety standards would become the "largest share of auto production and sales ever covered by a single trade agreement," states Autocar.
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