US businesses have pleaded with the Trump administration to intervene over new EU consumer protection rules that they fear will leave them open to an avalanche of class-action lawsuits.
A group of five major US trade associations, led by the US Chamber of Commerce, wrote to top Trump administration officials earlier this year requesting “active engagement with the European Commission” over rules that would require companies to prove their products were not at fault if a customer alleged injury.
The changes, due to be introduced from December as part of an update to the EU’s Product Liability Directive, threaten to become a new flashpoint in transatlantic relations. The Trump administration is already piling pressure on the bloc over a range of regulations, in particular its digital rules.