The leaders of German car companies have united in support of a free trade agreement between the EU and the US that they believe would slash their costs and boost competitiveness.
The show of unity is designed to influence politicians as negotiations on a wide ranging trade agreement grind along at glacial pace.
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The deal under consideration for the EU and US is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). By dismantling tariffs and achieving regulatory convergence between the US and EU, costs would be saved. It would also improve international harmonisation through the Global Technical Regulation process, according to ACEA.
BMW chief Norbert Reithofer said, according to Reuters, that about 40% of all vehicles produced around the globe are purchased by European and US buyers and reaching a trade deal that would remove tariff barriers would bring cost reductions of EUR 1bn for the German auto industry alone.
“It makes sense to mutually recognise each other’s rules and move forward. TTIP is a unique opportunity to better integrate markets on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche. According to Reuters, Zetsche said that carmakers waste billions and other resources by trying to develop, certificate and crash test duplicate and separate versions of the same vehicle to meet different regulatory standards in the EU and the US.”
However, complex TTIP negotiations are proving slow to reach a comprehensive agreement.
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