Chris Davies MEP writes:
The hard bit is yet to come
Last week agreement was reached to open negotiations with the aim of securing an EU - USA trade deal. Commanding one third of the world's entire trade it could bring important job-creating benefits to both sides of the pond. But the difficulty will be in agreeing common standards. For example:
Having introduced tough vehicle emissions standards for every car sold in the EU, will we now have to relax these to allow the import of US-made cars that don't meet them?
Will we have to accept the import of meat containing growth hormones - a standard practice in the USA but banned in the EU?
And what about the safety of the tens of thousands of chemicals used in every aspect of production? The EU has a regime that requires every manufacturer to demonstrate that their product will cause no harm when properly used. Are we to relax these standards and put human health and the environment at risk?
I imagine there are going to be some stormy debates ahead. Of course, it could be that the USA will simply sign up to our generally higher standards. And, then again, pigs could fly.