August 01st
Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, a member of the EU Transport committee, has raised concerns over the trade deal struck between Japan and the United States which reportedly removes domestic Japanese safety testing requirements for American-made vehicles exported to Japan.
Ní Mhurchú echoed calls by European safety experts that the EU should not follow suit and allow U.S. vehicles to enter EU markets without being subject to EU specific crash testing or safety compliance requirements.
According to Ní Mhurchú,
“We cannot water down our safety standards to placate a Trump administration that only cares about the bottom line. What happened in Japan sets a dangerous precedent – one that could undermine global road safety efforts. We have applied world class automotive safety regulation standards in the EU and that has saved countless lives”
“If we allow vehicles to bypass established national safety standards for the sake of trade expediency with the US, we risk turning back the clock on decades of progress in reducing road deaths”
The EU has prided itself on adopting some of the world’s most effective vehicle safety regulations and standards, culminating in the General Safety Regulation that is currently in force. These rules mandate technologies such as automated emergency braking, intelligent speed assistance, and pedestrian protection – none of which are currently required for vehicles sold in the U.S.
Ní Mhurchú cautioned that the finer details of trade talks with the US should not be predicated on weakening our regulatory standards, in particular when it comes to safety standards. The Ireland South MEP maintained that our vehicle safety standards in the EU should not be seen as trade barriers but rather evidence based safety standards that protect lives.
Ní Mhurchú noted previous assurances from the European Commission that EU safety standards are not on the table in ongoing trade discussions with the United States but cautioned negotiators not to be swayed by the whims of the Trump administration.
According to Ní Mhurchú, European consumers should be confident that all products sold on the EU market should meet our rigorous existing European regulatory standards in full.
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