- Work together to advance international standardization roadmaps and technical norms
- Focus on common societal values
- The economic areas on both sides of the Atlantic share common societal values: fundamental liberties, rule of law, a stable legal regulatory framework, an open market economy with free and fair competition, economic strength, and innovative power.
- European industry sees a closer relationship between the economic areas as an opportunity to create a benchmark for the safety, reliability, sustainability, flexibility, and compatibility of products and services in an international context. In this way, both sides can further develop and strengthen their international competitiveness through joint efforts.
- Coordinate on regulatory action
- Digitalization shapes products, services, and markets. A reliable regulatory framework, high technical standards, and compliant products and services are crucial for a functioning economy.
- Meanwhile, it has become clear that there is also a need for regulation in certain genuinely digital markets, such as data spaces or artificial intelligence, due to their increasing importance for and influence on the overall economy and society. Moreover, digitalization induces constant change into regulated markets at a high and formerly unseen pace. As a result, the requirements for security and quality need to be continuously reviewed and readjusted. However, this dynamic also offers an opportunity to jointly shape the digital future. This requires closer, more structured cooperation in the development of new regulations on product safety and services as well as their revisions.
- Ensure international standards are market driven and consensus-based
- The core function of standards is to create future-proof trust in the security, safety, marketability, or interoperability of a given product or solution. Standards should support markets by addressing the right topics with useful definitions and requirements. Trust is best created by involving all interested parties into standardization work and reaching consensus, whereas the support of markets can best be achieved by giving market players a leading role. Finally, as the digital world is international by nature, its standards should be international as well.
- Consequently, closer cooperation in the development of standards under the umbrella of ISO and IEC as well as some other global organizations, such as 3GPP for mobile communication, should be sought. As shown by the "German Standardization Panel", German companies favor a consistent adoption and observance of international ISO standards by both trade areas as the best solution.
- It is also important to set a benchmark for the regulatory framework and recognized standards in the international context, to sustainably strengthen the common position in the competition of global rulemaking. Market driven and consensus-based standardization, particularly on international level through the ISO and IEC, is a powerful tool in this respect.
- The creation of concrete and joint bilateral standardization projects, pursued by the relevant standards bodies in the US and EU aimed at the international level, can be particularly helpful. Examples include joint standardization roadmaps in innovative technology areas. Such projects can also support coordination of the regulatory frameworks on both sides of the Atlantic at an early stage.
- Greater regulatory cooperation should be promoted with the goal of harmonizing diverging technical legislation based on international standards. We call upon the EU and the United States to conclude the negotiations on conformity assessments as soon as possible.
- Kick-off lighthouse projects to pave the way for further cooperation. Possible areas could be:
- AI
- Semiconductors
- Telecommunication Networks
- 6G
- Broadband Internet
- Cloud and Date Governance
- Cybersecurity
- Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure
- Developing and Utilizing International Cybersecurity Standards
Moving Forward to a New Transatlantic Digital Agenda
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