AmCham EU calls for transatlantic consistency in short selling
17 January 2011
AmCham EU is concerned that draft legislation could itself have unintended negative consequences, ultimately raising costs for EU governments issuing sovereign debt and for corporate issuers of debt or equity.
Transatlantic consistency in approach
· Short selling was not one of the priority areas for action identified by the G20.
· As such there is no clear process to ensure globally consistent approaches, and in particular consistency between the EU and US, the world’s two largest financial markets. The close cooperation between the European Commission and the US authorities that we have seen in relation to OTC derivatives policy should be replicated in relation to short selling.
· AmCham EU is concerned that the absence of such cooperation and dialogue could lead to unnecessary and damaging divergence between EU and US approaches to this issue. It also limits the potential for the two jurisdictions to learn from one another. The US has had specific rules on short selling since 2005 and we believe that this experience could usefully inform the development of Europe’s approach.
· This is particularly evident on three of the key issues raised by the Commission proposal.
© American Chamber of commerce to the EU
