Activities of Godelieve QUISTHOUDT-ROWOHL related to 2012/2149(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on trade and economic relations with the United States PDF (170 KB) DOC (103 KB)
Amendments (17)
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the development of common standards between the EU and the US would have an automatic positive spill- over effect on North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries, and a more harmonised regulatory environment between the EU and the US cwould be beneficial in general, and that the further integration of the world's most integrated commercial market would be historically unprecedented;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the Interim Report of the HLWG and the preliminary recommendations contained therein, and agrees that a comprehensive agreement should include an ambitious reciprocal market opening in goods, services and investment, and address the challenges of modernising trade rules and enhancing the compatibility of regulatory regimes; encourages the HLWG to continue its work preparing an ambitious yet feasible set of objectives and concrete deliverables for the negotiations of such a comprehensive bilateral trade and investment agreement, which would be consistent with (and supportive of) the WTO framework;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Finds positive and supportive the encouraging declaration by Congressman Gregory Meeks, Ranking Member of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia, that the service sector has immense transatlantic potential; expresses its own support, as well, for the four Members of the Parliament's Committee on International Trade, including its Chairman, who, in their aforementioned letter, specifically mentioned services - as well as public procurement, intellectual property, tariff elimination, regulatory cooperation and trade facilitation - as an area where progress would be extremely beneficial;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the importance of continuing with the strengthening of transatlantic economic relations but without threatening EU policies, includingwhile supporting EU interests in fields such as environmental standards, cultural diversity, social rights, public services or geographical indications, among others; emphasises that while the specific interests and sensitivities of both partners must be safeguarded in a balanced way, there are many areas where progress would be greatly beneficial, in particular as regardsing the removal of trade barriers, the introduction of measures to ensure better market access and appropriate investment conditions, the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), the opening up of public procurement markets to ensure full reciprocity, and the convergence on mutual recognition of regulatory standards, and not simply adhering to a minimum required standard based on the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement), but rather to strive in jointly enhancing quality and cooperation when dealing with EU and US divergent standards on food safety and plant and animal health; considers that such an intensification of economic relations would also allow for greater alignment of EU and US approaches towards addressing global economic challenges;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that the enhanced protection of geographical indications in bilateral agricultural trade will be a key issue in which significant progress is possible if both parties approach the matter in a constructive spirit of compromise; and considers enhanced protection of geographical indication as a key component that is directly related to an ambitious outcome regarding agricultural market access; supports the complete cancelation of export refunds between inter-EU-US agricultural trade;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Reiterates its call for the completion of a 1 Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union. transatlantic market by 2015, based on the principle of a socialfree and fair market economy, the realisation of which – alongside the completion of the EU's own single market – will be a core factor in re- launching global economic growth and recovery;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recognises that even though the average tariffs on transatlantic trade in goods are comparatively low, there is an interest in both the EU and US business communities to eliminate remaining tariffs; takes the view, however, that a tariff-only free trade agreement would not be ambitious enough; supports the goal proposed by the HLWG of eliminating all duties on bilateral trade, with the objective of achieving a substantial elimination of tariffs upon entry into force of the agreement and a phasing out of all but the most sensitive tariffs in short time-frame, which could deliver significant gains, considering that EU-US bilateral trade to a large extent consists of intra-firm trade, and enhance the global competitiveness of the EU and US companies on the world stage;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Supports the view that, given thealready- existent low average tariffs, the key to unlocking the potential of the transatlantic relationship lies in the tackling of non- tariff barriers (NTBs), consisting mainly of customs procedures and behind-the-border regulatory restrictions; supports the ambition proposed by the HLWG to move progressively towards an even more integrated transatlantic marketplace, while; recognisinges that no, while an agreement couldmay not resolve all existing regulatory issues immediately and while fully respecting the right of each side to regulate in a manner that ensures the protection of health, safety and environment at the level that each side deems appropriat, an institutionalization of inter-compatibility between EU and US regulatory regimes would greatly facilitate transatlantic commerce while setting a bold global standard; reiterates as well the necessity of fully respecting the right of each side to regulate in a manner that ensures the protection of health, safety and environment at the level that each side deems appropriate, as well as taking into historical account transatlantic divergence on issues such as the planting of genetically modified organisms and certain issues of animal welfare;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recognises that unnecessary differences and overly burdensome regulatory standards serve as significant barriers to trade, and that additional growth could follow from addressing such barriers; underlines the need to avoid creating new (even if unintended) barriers to trade and investment, especially in key emerging technologies and innovative sectors; supports efforts towards upstream regulatory cooperation on standards, regulatory coherence, and better alignment of standards, to further promote trade and growth that could improve efficiency and effectively address NTBs; reinforces the HLWG's claim that any deal negotiated that would exclude regulatory cooperation and reform would be economically insignificant and politically untenable on both sides;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Supports the ambition of the HLWG to keep and share the highest level of services liberalisation achieved by the EU and the US in existing free trade agreements, while improving market access through addressing remaining long-standing barriers and recognising the sensitive nature of certain sectors; calls for greater cooperation in the Exchange of Best Practices in order to improve transatlantic public sector efficiency; recommends increased mutual dialog on the future of Cloud Computing, as well as the advances and production of electric vehicles;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Supports, in recognition of the importance of investment for boosting economic growth, the aim proposed by the HLWG of negotiating and increasing investment liberalisation andbetween the EU and the US; deems unnecessary, however, further discussion of investment protection provisions on the basis of, due to the highest levels of liberalisation and protection that both sides have negotiated to datejudicial independence both markets currently enjoy;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Supports, in recognition of the importance of investment for boosting economic growth, the aim proposed by the HLWG of negotiating investment liberalisation and protection provisions , subject to examination of the need for comprehensive investment protection in OECD countries, on the basis of the highest levels of liberalisation and protection that both sides have negotiated to date; 1 European Parliament resolution of 6 April 2011 on the Future European international investment policy (Texts adopted, P7_TA(2011)0141).
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on both parties to open up further their respective public procurement markets to each other in order to ensure full reciprocity and transparency, and supports the goal proposed by the HLWG of enhancing business opportunities through substantially improved access to public procurement opportunities at all levels of government on the basis of national treatment; understands that US public procurement jurisdiction falls also under individual states; takes the position, however, that to under-stress the opening of EU and US public procurement markets would risk the comprehensiveness of the treaty, therefore echoes the call of the 22 February 2012 bipartisan US Senate letter which strongly urges action in further opening public procurement markets; recalls the significance for transatlantic trade of open procurement markets that offer equal access to all suppliers, in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); reiterates the view that EU SMEs should have the same level of advantages and possibilities as regards public tenders in the US as they enjoy inside the EU, and reminds that the HLWG has specifically identified horizontal provisions on SMEs as an area with a high possibility of receiving transatlantic support;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Affirms the importance of IPR to stimulate job and economic growth, and the significance, therefore, that high standards be maintained for IPR protection and enforcement, while promoting the free flow of information; agrees with the assessment of the HLWG that even though both the EU and US are committed to high level of IPR protection and enforcement, it might not be feasible, in eventual negotiations, to seek to reconcile across-the-boardstresses that the EU should not be afraid to negotiate ambitiously in aiming to solve areas of diffvergences with regards to the IPR obligations typically included in EU and US trade agreements; underlines, however, that the approach proposed for negotiations should be ambitious, aiminghen dealing with the IPR matters in a mutually satisfactory manner; reiterates that both EU and US growth and job creation efforts rely on the ability to innovate and produce creatively, and ats solving the areas of divergence, whiluch the transatlantic economy is threatened when unique idealing with the IPR matters in a mutually satisfactory manners are counterfeited and its citizens' products are pirated;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers that the transatlantic dialogue, in order to be successful, needs to be further intensified at all levels, and that high-level meetings, not only between the Commission and US Administration but also between members of relevant committees of Parliament and the US Congress, should be held on a more regular basis; considers that it would be a welcome development should the US Congress decide to follow the example of Parliament, which has, since January 2010, been represented in Washington through its Liaison Office;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Council not to authorise the opening of eventual negotiations with the US on such agreement until the Parliament, if it so decides, has stated its position on the proposed negotiating mandate on the basis of a report by the committee responsible; undertakes for its part that in stating its position it will not unnecessarily delay the commencement of negotiations;