US extends scientific co-operation on standards and measurements
The trade and investment agreement being negotiated between the two continents known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), aims to remove barriers such as tariffs, unnecessary regulation and restrictions on investments in a wide range of sectors to allow companies to sell and buy goods and invest easier on the other side of the Atlantic.
According to Patrick Gallagher, NIST's Director; “We affirm this relationship and look forward to new and exciting areas of interaction that will ultimately serve to support the relationship between the European Union and the United States. By working together, we can take advantage of each other’s respective strengths to further the science."
So in this instance the cosmetics industry will benefit in the form of lowered tariffs and harmonised standards that will act as real savings for companies, whilst also creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Goal met after extensive discussions
Speaking at the JRC-NIST signing ceremony in Washington, JRC Director General Dominique Ristori emphasised the importance of the agreement, reached after intensive discussion by the two sides in the last months.
"The Implementing Arrangement we signed today will create an overarching framework for a cross-Atlantic cooperation on the development and harmonisation of methods, indicators and documentary standards in a wide range of areas, such as energy, nanotechnology, healthcare and clinical measurements as well as many others. It will also serve as a leading example in the process towards setting global standards."
The respective work on standardisation is said to have helped forge closer relations between the JRC, the Commission's in-house science service, and NIST over the last year and represents a fresh boost to transatlantic scientific co-operation and a new momentum in the collaboration between two natural partners. Both JRC and NIST have the strategic goal to support competitiveness and economic growth.
