|
Ms. Susan Binns
Director
Directorate General Internal Market
Avenue Cortenbergh 107
05/29
B1049 Brussels
BELGIUM
February 16, 2001
Dear Ms. Binns,
Thank you for providing us with a copy of the January 19
draft decision of the Commission adopting standard contractual
clauses pursuant to the provisions of the EU Data Protection
Directive (95/46/EC). In the very limited time we have had
the draft proposal, our preliminary review suggests that it
may create several adverse consequences for U.S. enterprises.
While U.S. companies that join the Safe Harbor will not need
to use the model contract, we are concerned that adoption
of this proposal could undermine last year's agreement to
use the Safe Harbor Principles as the basis for model contracts.
Generally, the proposal appears to impose burdensome requirements,
such as in the areas of access and onward transfer, that exceed
what was contemplated in our agreement on the Safe Harbor
Principles. In addition, the proposal imposes requirements
in other areas, such as jurisdiction and liability, to which
we believe prudent U.S. enterprises could object. Adoption
of the proposal may also inhibit our joint efforts to negotiate
agreements covering financial institutions. These are but
a few of our immediate concerns.
We look forward to more detailed discussions with the European
Union before this proposal is finalized.
Sincerely,
Michelle O'Neill
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information Technology Industries
U.S. Department of Commerce
T. Whittier Warthin
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Trade and Investment Policy
U.S. Department of the Treasury
|
