Research Chief Reeve T. Bull ·
83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1262 ·
In the last several years, regulators in major industrialized states have
increasingly focused on achieving greater integration between international
regulatory regimes and eliminating unnecessary regulatory divergences that
create barriers to trade. So-called international regulatory cooperation, which
the Administrative Conference of the United States first advocated
in a 1991 recommendation and again embraced in a 2011 recommendation,
has been formally endorsed in an Obama Administration executive order and
represents a major component of several free trade agreements that the United
States is currently negotiating. Notwithstanding its increasing prominence, international
regulatory cooperation has been and largely remains a relatively
low priority for administrative agencies.
This article seeks to alter that dynamic by highlighting elements of international
regulatory cooperation that advance agencies’ regulatory missions.
In particular, it focuses upon public participation, examining how the Transatlantic
Trade and Investment Partnership, a free trade agreement currently being
negotiated between the United States and European Union, might enhance
agency decisionmaking by expanding opportunities for stakeholder input on
both sides of the Atlantic. It compares the primary mechanisms for public
participation in the United States and European Union, identifies the primary
goals each side seeks to achieve, and highlights possible reforms that might
improve participatory processes on both sides.
