This meeting is reinforcing the mutual trust between global partners and is helping achieving long term objectives be them trade, environmental, safety or IPR issues. Mr Jean-Marc Gales, CLEPA CEO, outlined some key areas towards the long-wished for goal of harmonisation, namely: which standards on both sides of the Atlantic can be recognised as equivalent - agreeing on products and innovations such as safety systems and autonomous emergency braking.

CLEPA firmly supports Global Harmonization of technical regulations pursued through the current UN-WP29 process in Geneva under 2 International Agreements, the 1958 Agreement and the 1998 Agreement. This is of utmost importance for automotive suppliers. Achieving higher convergence with the USA and Japan would encourage other countries to follow the harmonization process.

CLEPA recognizes the importance and the potential for expansion of bilateral agreements and the need to address obstacles for free and fair trade through the dismantlement of tariffs and the elimination of Non Tariffs Barriers. In particular, CLEPA supports the successful conclusions of the negotiations of the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and of the EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement.

Achieving greater global technical and regulatory cooperation will lower the costs of doing business, create new market opportunities and set down the foundations for future growth, competiveness and job creation.

“There are certainly processes we need to set up, but there is a clear willingness to set up common standards on both sides of the Atlantic and also the Pacific. I cannot recollect any trilateral we had that was this productive”, stated Mr Jean-Marc Gales, CLEPA CEO.

The next trilateral meeting will take place in Paris in 2014.

Note to Editors

CLEPA is the European Association of Automotive Suppliers.

109 of the world's most prominent suppliers for car parts, systems and modules and 25 National trade associations and European sector associations are members of CLEPA, representing more than 3 thousand companies, employing more than 5 million people and covering all products and services within the automotive supply chain. Based in Brussels, Belgium, CLEPA is recognized as the natural discussion partner by the European Institutions, United Nations and fellow associations (ACEA, JAMA, MEMA, etc).

Facts about the European automotive industry

• Some 12 million people are employed in the European automotive industry
• European automotive suppliers employs directly 5 million people
• European automotive suppliers invest €18bn in RDI per year. They are one of the biggest private investors into research and innovation
• Per year, 16 million vehicles are manufactured in Europe, contributing to the stability and growth of the European economy

For more information, please contact: Mrs. Amalia Di Stefano, CLEPA Deputy CEO, a.distefano@clepa.be

Tel.: +32 2 743 91 35,  www.clepa.eu                         

Nathalie Gminder

Manager European Affairs and Communication

CLEPA aisbl - The European Association of Automotive Suppliers
Boulevard Brand Whitlock 87
B - 1200  BRUSSELS
Phone: +32 2 740 28 43
Fax: +32 2 732 00 55
Web: www.clepa.be