EU Panel OKs Plan to Strengthen Trade Ties With U.S.

The European Union’s executive body approved a plan Wednesday to strengthen trade ties with the United States, calling for the removal of regulatory barriers and steps to preempt damaging trade disputes.

The draft action plan adopted by the European Commission sets out the EU’s goals for the Transatlantic Economic Partnership, a new trade initiative that President Clinton and EU leaders agreed to launch in May.

“These proposals...will enhance the EU-U.S. relationship as a pole of stability in a turbulent world economy and as the driving force for multilateral trade liberalization,” European Trade Commissioner Leon Brittan said in a statement.

The action plan must still be approved by the 15 EU governments and agreed to by the United States.

The commission hopes the EU and the United States will formally adopt the plan at their December summit in Washington. Some proposals require negotiations with the United States and others do not.

The commission’s plan calls for closer scientific coordination and an early warning system to minimize trade disputes in areas such as food safety and genetically modified crops--both fertile areas for quarrels.

It proposes extending mutual recognition agreements, which cover product testing and specifications, and suggests that the EU and United States recognize each other’s professional qualifications for architects and engineers. It proposes transatlantic liberalization in governmental procurement.

The Transatlantic Economic Partnership is a watered-down version of Brittan’s proposal for a New Transatlantic Marketplace that was scuttled by French opposition earlier this year. Commission officials say they have informally consulted EU governments about the TEP action plan and expect no major controversy this time.

The EU and the United States are each other’s largest trading partner.