Independent European road safety bodies are concerned that the U.S. will skirt around the EU’s … More crash-safety regulations as part of any trade deal. Photo: Guido Kirchner/picture alliance via Getty Images.
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Europe’s peak independent transport safety bodies have urged the European Union not to follow Japan’s lead and allow U.S.-made vehicles to be sold to European customers without passing European safety regulations.
The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has insisted that the EU should not allow American companies to sidestep EU safety regulations in the interests of lowered tariffs with the U.S.
The Trump administration this week announced a trade deal with Japan, the centerpiece of which is a 15% reciprocal tariff on goods exported from Japan to the U.S. – which has American automakers concerned.
But the fine print of the deal showed that American automakers would now be allowed to sell their vehicles into the Japanese market – without passing Japanese domestic crash or emissions regulations.
News stories today hinted that the EU was preparing to sign a similar deal, allowing its automakers to export to the U.S. for a 15% tariff rather than building cars there, with the same circumvention of its crash-safety regulations, which are considered the toughest in the world.
Autonomous emergency braking, ntelligent speed assistance and pedestrian protection are some … More features mandated under EU law that are not mandatory in U.S. cars. Photo: Getty.
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In a statement released today, the ETSC expressed deep concern that the move could undermine years of crash-safety science and improvement and urged the EU to reject any such deal and insisted vehicle-safety standards were public protections, not trade barriers.
“We are deeply concerned by the trade deal reached this week by the governments of Japan and the United States, which reportedly removes domestic Japanese safety testing requirements for American-made vehicles exported to Japan,” the statement read.
“This move sets a dangerous precedent – one that could undermine road safety in countries that have led the world in automotive safety regulation.
“Allowing vehicles to bypass proven national safety standards for the sake of trade expediency risks turning back the clock on decades of progress in reducing road deaths and serious injuries.”
Signatories to the statement include the the Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council (Antonio Avenoso), the Acting Director General of the FIA’s Region 1 (Diogo Pinto), the Executive Director of Transport & Environment (William Todts) and the President of the International Federation of Pedestrians (Geert van Waeg). Others involved included leaders of the European Consumer Voice in Standardization, Cities and Regions for Transport Innovation and the European Cyclists’ Federation.
Leading the pushback were Michiel van Ratingen, the Secretary General of Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) and the CEO of Global NCAP, Richard Woods. NCAP programs have been responsible for enormous steps forward in consumer awareness of vehicle crash safety and, more lately, in driver-assistance systems.
“Reports indicate that Japan will now allow U.S. vehicles to enter its market without being subject to Japan’s specific crash testing or safety compliance requirements. We urge the European Union not to follow suit,” the statement continued.
“Trade talks must not become a backdoor to regulatory weakening. Vehicle safety standards are not trade barriers; they are public protections backed by science and evidence. Weakening or bypassing them would lead to real and measurable harm – particularly to vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.
“The EU has consistently adopted some of the world’s most effective vehicle safety regulations, culminating in the General Safety Regulation that is currently in force. These rules mandate technologies such as automated emergency braking, intelligent speed assistance, and pedestrian protection – none of which are currently required for vehicles sold in the U.S.
“We urge EU leaders to maintain this position, and to state clearly that no deal on vehicles will be accepted unless all products placed on the EU market meet existing European regulatory requirements in full.”
And Beneficiaries Aren’t Happy, Either
While the Trump administration has insisted that its tariff war would bring jobs back to America, it was the Toyota Motor Corp whose shares boomed on the Japanese tariff announcement, rising 13% to a seven-month high yesterday.
The Big Three U.S. automakers called for caution on the tariffs yesterday, with the head of the American Automotive Policy Council (which represents Ford, GM and Stellantis) insisting they would harm American manufacturers, rather than helping them.
“Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than the tariff imposed on North American built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers,” the council’s head, Matt Blunt, said in a statement.
Auto Drive America, which represents automakers who sell imported vehicles in the U.S., had a different take, and urged Trump to reach similar deals with the EU, Mexico and South Korea.
“We share President Trump’s vision to make the U.S. the worldwide center of automotive production, and our member companies need stability in order to create an environment where we can maintain our competitive edge both in the U.S. and on the global stage,” Auto Drive America said in a statement.
The Trade War has been a collection of ups and downs that have driven automakers to despair, given that all U.S.-built cars contain at least 15% foreign-made parts.
The irony is that American cars have been sold tariff-free in Japan for decades, but have failed to garner interest due to being too large and inefficient for Japanese tastes. Now, they’ll be at least 15% more expensive to Japanese buyers.