00:00The trade agreement between the European Union and the United States could have consequences
00:08for road safety in Europe. This is the warning issued by NGOs following the joint declaration
00:14published last week by the two partners. For automobiles, the text refers to mutual
00:20recognition of each other's standards. However, the associations point out that safety standards
00:26differ widely between European and American cars. We've now got technologies like automated
00:32emergency braking, we have pedestrian protection tests, we have lane-keeping assistance systems.
00:37Those are just three examples of technologies which are mandatory in Europe and not mandatory
00:42in the U.S. With this trade agreement, Washington hopes to export more U.S. standard vehicles to
00:48Europe. The NGOs' other concern is the effect this compromise will have on manufacturers in Europe.
00:55The various manufacturers could be tempted to denounce a situation of unfair competition
01:00and criticize European regulations.
01:03All the other manufacturers, the Japanese, the Chinese, the Koreans and the other European
01:09manufacturers who produce in Europe will be saying, well, if they have to meet only the
01:14U.S. standard and we have to meet the European standard, it's not going to be fair. There's
01:19going to be unfair competition and then there'll just be huge pressure to level down Europe's
01:24own standards. In support of these concerns, NGOs say that over the last few decades, road
01:30accidents have increased in the U.S., while the higher safety standards in Europe are forcing
01:35accident numbers down.
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