Commission rejects US accusation over standards rules

Date: 27/03/03

THE European Commission has dismissed US claims that it is trying to protect European jobs by setting protectionist standards for products.

US officials took a swipe at the EU last week when they announced they were spearheading an American effort to target foreign standards which they claim are really a form of protectionism.

Commerce Secretary Don Evans said the US goal was a "uniform set of standards so that we're all playing by the same rules".

His second-in-command, Grant Aldonas, said the EU has long used product standards to give companies an edge in their own markets, and was using the same tactic to gain advantages for exporters in central and eastern Europe.

However, Commission spokesman Per Haugaard said the EU's standards policy is totally fair - despite the massive success of European norms in sectors from boats to GSM mobile phones.

"First, the standards are not mandatory and second, they are worked out by industry, including US industry present in Europe. Standards are important for industry and consumers.

"The more widely accepted they are the better, as long as they are open and interoperable," he said.

Under the EU system, industry groups meet to set standards within European level bodies such as CEN, the Brussels-based European Standardisation Committee or ETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute,.

But many of the standards they set are not directly linked to EU rules.

Other norms allow firms that comply to claim they are in line with EU law.

But, crucially, companies are free to use other standards as long as they meet basic "essential requirements" written in EU directives.

The European Commission has dismissed US claims that it is trying to protect European jobs by setting protectionist standards for products.