CFR to US: International Regulatory Standardization Begins Regionally in North America
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Thomas Bollyky, senior fellow for global health, economics and development at the CFR has underlined the importance of international regulatory integration under the guise of fair work conditions, etc. According to Bollyky, this struggle begins at home: “The United States should pursue regulatory integration on a regional basis and in the areas where the interests of trade officials, national regulatory authorities, and exporting nations overlap.”
As is well-known in geopolitical circles, this trend is well under way in North America. Along an aging pattern for increasing North America (and beyond) integration, in May 2012 Barack issued an executive order establishing an interagency working group, fronted by the White house’s office of information and regulatory affairs, to promote international regulatory cooperation in order to reduce unnecessary cross-border differences. Participating US agencies are charged with implementing its recommendations. According to Bollyky, the agencies should adopt the following strategies:
Focus first focus first on international standards and regulatory burden sharing in the food, drug and biotechnology sectors. Trade talks should be used to drive adoption of international standards.
Increase the ability of US regulators to police internationally
Focus on the regional level.
Bollyky puts stress on the importance of regional practice towards international regulatory standardization: “US policymakers should implement these trade and regulatory burden-sharing initiatives regionally.”
