On August 21, the European Union (EU) and the United States of America released a joint statement about "a Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade." Item 8 made waves both due to its promises and vagueness. According to the document, "with respect to automobiles, the United States and the European Union intend to accept and provide mutual recognition to each other's standards." But what does that mean?
The bad news is that, even after so many days have passed since the release of the joint statement, no party has clarified that. It seems we will have to wait until they decide to disclose their goals or, what is more likely, figure out what practical effect those words will have. There are at least two that can happen.
Read Article