“A milestone in terms of cooperation”, European plastics and rubber machinery association Euromap (Frankfurt / Germany; www.euromap.org) and SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association (Washington DC / USA; www.plasticsindustry.org) on 23 June inked a declaration of intent on free trade within the plastics machinery industry in Berlin / Germany. The move not only strengthens the competitive position of the two countries’ plastics machinery manufacturers, it also helps safeguard some 65,000 jobs, SPI chief executive William Carteaux and Euromap secretary general Thorsten Kühmann said. Carteaux added that the declaration “should have a very positive impact on our business relationships.” With sales of EUR 15 bn, the European and American plastics machinery markets account for 50% of the global market.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will dismantle all tariffs, thus providing a boost to machinery exports. The two associations believe this could result in the creation of tens of thousands of machinery-related jobs in both Europe and the US. To further drive this cooperation, SPI and Euromap are lobbying politicians in the EU and the US to include the interests of the machinery manufacturing industry in their talks.

In addition to signing the TTIP, the two industry bodies also undertook to harmonise safety standards. With this in mind, they already established international (ISO) working groups.