EU-US summit snub to consumers

Consumer groups from both sides of the Atlantic have decided to boycott Friday’s EU-US summit in an angry protest at being excluded from talks.

Representatives from the business community have been invited to present recommendations directly to US and EU leaders at a meeting focused on key economic issues.

But consumer groups angry at receiving no such invitation have decided not to attend the meeting and will instead send their comments in writing.

Director of the European Consumers Organisation, BEUC, Jim Murray blasted the decision to give consumers a lesser role in trade talks.

“This is a blatant disregard for the standards of equal access to business and consumer representatives that US and EU leaders themselves drafted and signed,” he said.

The Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) consists of EU and US consumer organisations that develop joint policy recommendations and has been the voice of the consumer interest in the Transatlantic Economic Partnership trade policy discussions since 1998.

At the summit, the group had planned to discuss its views on reducing childhood obesity, air travellers’ privacy and industrial chemicals.

Business leaders from the EU and the US, meanwhile, have urged political leaders to boost the Trans-Atlantic economy by dismantling non-tariff trade barriers.

In a recent survey, European companies reveal that doing business with the US has become more difficult since the introduction of increased security measures in customs procedures post September 11.

The same report also notes that US businesses are largely optimistic about trading within Europe with most respondents expecting an increase in business opportunities in the next five years.

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