According to Digital Journal, the findings indicate U.S. cars are particularly unsafe when it comes to front-side collisions which commonly lead to serious injuries. The website states these findings were not publically announced by bodies that funded it, which include organizations representing brands such as Chrysler and Toyota.
The AAM stated in 2013 that regulatory differences between the U.S. and E.U. "can act as non-tariff barriers to trade," translating into higher costs for consumers.
The study was initially commissioned to back the notion that vehicle safety standards are similar between the two regions – a case that would support the TTIP agreement, which analysts say could be the biggest such deal ever made.
"The car industry is hoping to be one of the biggest beneficiaries from a TTIP agreement, partly by removing tariffs on imports, but mainly by removal of so-called non-tariff measures.”
The report may stall this agreement.
"The results of our study indicate that there is currently a risk difference with respect to the risk of injury given a crash between E.U. specification cars and U.S. models," said Andras Balint, a co-author of the study. "Therefore, based on these results, immediate recognition of U.S. vehicles in the E.U. could potentially result in a greater number of fatalities or serious injuries in road traffic. The potential impact is difficult to quantify because it depends on a number of other parameters."
The next official round of negotiations over the TTIP deal is set for next month.
