EU-US trade deal: ETSC warns safety standards must not be traded away

Talks between the European Union and the United States on a new trade deal are raising alarm among road safety advocates. The concern stems from the joint statement issued by both sides on 21 August, which contained language on the “mutual recognition” of vehicle standards. Such wording could open the door to US-market vehicles being sold in Europe without having to comply with the EU’s stricter safety rules.

ETSC warns that this would represent a major step backwards for road safety. Europe’s General Safety Regulation, which began to apply in 2022, requires technologies such as intelligent speed assistance, automated emergency braking and lane-keeping assist. These features are not systematically required in the United States, where road deaths have risen in recent years. By contrast, the EU has achieved steady declines in crashes and deaths – progress that ETSC says must not be undermined.

The risk is not only theoretical. Some American pickup trucks and SUVs are already entering the EU through a loophole known as Individual Vehicle Approval, which allows imports that do not meet all EU type-approval standards under certain conditions. Wider recognition of US standards could dramatically increase the number of such vehicles on European roads. Research has shown that larger, heavier vehicles pose particular risks for pedestrians and cyclists, and are associated with higher rates of death and serious injury when collisions occur.

“Recognising US standards as equivalent to ours is not a small technical detail – it is a political choice with lives at stake,” said Antonio Avenoso, ETSC’s Executive Director. “The EU must hold firm: trade deals shouldn’t mean trading away lives.”