Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables. No,
say the Americans: our fowl are fine, we simply clean them in a different way. These days, it is differences in
national regulations, far more than tariffs, that put sand in the wheels of trade between rich countries. It is not
just farmers who are complaining . An electric razor that meets the European Union’s safety standards must be
approved by American testers before it can be sold in the United States, and an American-made dialysis machine
needs the EU’s okay before it hits the market in Europe.
As it happens, a razor that is safe in Europe is unlikely to electrocute Americans. So, ask businesses on both
sides of the Atlantic, why have two lots of tests where one would do? Politicians agree, in principle, so America
and the EU have been trying to reach a deal which would eliminate the need to double-test many products. They
hope to finish in time for a trade summit between America and EU on May 28th. Although negotiators are
optimistic, the details are complex enough that they may be hard-pressed to get a deal at all.
Why? One difficulty is to construct the agreements. The Americans would happily reach one accord on
standards for medical devices and then hammer out different pacts covering, say, electronic goods and drug
manufacturing. The EU-following fine continental traditions—wants agreement on general principles, which
could be applied to many types of products and have extended to other countries.