US, Canadian Industry Target Boosted Regulatory Cooperation
More than 30 industry associations, business groups and other advocates pushed the U.S. and Canada in an Oct. 10 letter to harmonize regulations in order to boost trade and safeguard the two countries from third-country threats, according to the Wilson Center's Canada Institute. The two sides should build from a recent Joint Forward Plan, released in August, which focuses on increased bilateral cooperation. In the plan, the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council pressed the need to further align regulatory functions in meat inspection and certification, plant and animal health, food and toy safety, and a long list of other areas (see 14090224).
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Although the plan marks a positive step, it needs to be supported by concrete details of objectives and specific timelines, said the letter, addressed to the U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and the Canadian Privy Council. “While the Joint Forward Plan contains promising new details, in some respects it resembles an outline of aspirational commitments that is intended to serve as a placeholder for future ideas,” said the letter. “Establishing details for the six-month and twelve-month objectives listed in the Joint Forward Plan is crucial to maintaining a successful RCC.” The letter called for a boost in harmonization in the following four areas:
Current Joint Action Plans: Both the U.S. and Canadian governments should "issue a clear statement" that the original 29 joint action plans should be completed as quickly as possible, or the regulatory leads should have to provide an explanation as to why the plans cannot be completed. "We understand that situations and assumptions made over two years ago may change, but it remains vital that regulators routinely brief stakeholders on the latest developments and thinking," said the letter.
New Joint Action Plans and Department to Department Commitments: The brief descriptions in the Joint Forward Plan need "far more details," said the letter. "As these new plans are further developed, it is important that they contain clear deliverables and timelines. There should also be the creation of a mechanism that allows for new action plans, addressing both forward-looking and current regulatory differences, to be added on a rolling basis and a checklist that describes what the RCC leads are looking for when choosing new initiatives," it said.
Institutionalizing Cooperation and Horizontal Issues: It is "essential" to lay out a clear plan for regulators in the U.S. and Canada to follow "in order to ensure consistent cooperation on both process and substance," said the letter. All regulatory agencies should be held to the same standards of advancing cooperation, it said. "Therefore, we urge that all regulatory agencies be obliged to adhere to regulatory cooperation best practices; also, the RCC leads should undertake a semiannual audit of their respective agency regulatory cooperation activities. This will ensure that important regulatory issues are not overlooked and that no new unnecessary barriers are being added."
Stakeholder Engagement: The "necessary first step" to improve stakeholder engagement is "the creation of a concrete action plan to establish routine, two-way communications with stakeholders along with standards to ensure interactions are meaningful and input is actively incorporated into each initiative," said the letter.