US And EU Agree On Trade Framework Agreement – Implications For ESG/CSR Compliance

On August 21, the US and EU announced that they have agreed on a Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade. The Framework Agreement expands upon earlier official statements on the US-EU trade deal and is intended as a first step in a process to improve market access and increase the US-EU trade and investment relationship.

Although not the principal focus of the Framework Agreement, 4 of its 19 key terms relate specifically to EU ESG/CSR-related compliance requirements. This post discusses these key terms and how they may impact EU compliance requirements of US-based multinationals.

The US-EU trade deal was first announced last month. However, the July announcements by both the US and EU were thin on some of the details relating to reducing non-tariff trade barriers, especially relating to the Framework Agreement terms discussed in this post.