Froman Hits Back at Regulatory Concerns in TTIP

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Oct. 14 hit back at accusations that the U.S. is attempting to weaken environmental and other protections in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, saying regulatory cooperation will be a boon to both regulators and consumers who would benefit from more efficient safety safeguards. U.S.-European harmonization could eliminate duplicative inspections and allow U.S. and European officials to dedicate their resources to inspect facilities of most pressing concern, he said, speaking in Rome. “Americans don’t want lower standards. Europeans don’t want lower standards. We won’t negotiate that kind of agreement,” said Froman. “Our legislatures wouldn’t approve such a thing. And the only reason we are negotiating this agreement is because we believe that, on balance, we share a similar commitment to strong levels of health, safety and environmental protection – even if our regulators get to the answer through somewhat different approaches.”