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Business in Europe

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The first edition of EUobserver's Business in Europe magazine looks at business and industry in Europe.

"The decentralised

"The decentralised nature of the US system makes it difficult for European companies, in particular small and medium size businesses," said Adrian Harris, Director General of Orgalime, representing the European engineering industry. US BEHIND THE CURVE source told EUobserver. But OSHA recently began negotiations with the European Commission as part of the TTIP process. "In practice, such fragmentation and lack of transparency means that European companies need to spend much more time and effort to continually monitor new standardisation work”, he said. "This also results in the need to purchase standards from different sources, which is becoming increasingly complex and costly”. When an EU company sells, for instance, an electronic sensor to US clients, the product must jump through 17 regulatory hoops. But under TTIP, its US competitor would have direct access to 28 markets through just one. One study found that 5 percent of the price of any product sold in the US market is made up of certification costs. is not against TTIP as a whole. TTIP. We depend on trade and want as much free trade as possible," he said, adding that export to the US in the sector had grown from €75 billion in 2010 to €116 billion in 2015. He said both American and EU firms would benefit from unified global standards. Some US multinationals, such as GE, have managed to set global norms with their products. But in general US regulators have agreed to less international standards than the EU. The leading Democratic Party trade pact with Asian was secretary of state. But she has trade. Photo: NATO “It's indisputable that trade agreements Obama told Europeans. 34 — BUSINESS IN EUROPE JUNE 2016

TTIP faces political and popular resistance on both sides of the Atlantic. RUNNING SHORT ON TIME TTIP would form the world's biggest free trade area if it is agreed. It faces political and popular resistance on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, the pact would have to be approved by an increasingly sceptical European Parliament as well as member states. Presidential candidates from both leading parties, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, have opposed trade agreements for decades. The leading Democratic Party candidate, Hillary Clinton, endorsed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a US trade pact with Asian states, when she was secretary of state. But she has flip-flopped on free trade. ly to end before TTIP is concluded, but there is no guarantee that the next administration would support it. “I have said I oppose the TPP agreement - and that means before and after the election,” she said in early May at an election rally. Presidential candidates from Donald Trump and have opposed trade agreements for decades. Photo: Reuters BUSINESS IN EUROPE JUNE 2016 — 35

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