On 14 July 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced that it remained the intention of the United States to sign the bilateral agreement on insurance and reinsurance (the “Agreement”) entered into between the EU and the United States in January this year. This announcement allays fears that the current Trump administration could step back from the Agreement.
The Agreement aims to facilitate greater transatlantic (re)insurance activity. It imposes reciprocity, as between a U.S. State on the one hand and any EU Member State on the other, in the key areas of group supervision, reinsurance and the exchange of information between supervisors. For more information on the implications of the Agreement, please see our previous article here.
The European Commission also issued a statement confirming that the signing of the Agreement will take place soon, allowing parts of the Agreement to become provisionally applicable. The European Parliament’s consent will be required in order for the Agreement to come into full force. It is also understood that the Trump administration plans to issue a policy statement on the implementation of the Agreement shortly after it has been signed.
We will update further on this topic as it continues to develop.
Contributed by Catherine Carrigy
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