ABSTRACT
Turning more specifically to the European Community (EC) 1992 program and related economic integration measures, an assessment of their implications must start by recalling the fears that were raised in the United States when the legislative proposals began to emerge. To many observers, the EC single market risked becoming a protectionist, discriminatory regime in which a privileged position would be held by firms headquartered, or at least established, inside the Community. The main focus of the Fortress Europe debate was the clause in the proposed second banking directive that would have enabled subsidiaries of a non-EC bank to enjoy the benefits of EC-wide banking only if reciprocal treatment were accorded to EC banks in the country of the non-EC bank in question. For the most part, the US private sector interests with sufficient desire and resources have been able to participate in or obtain adequate information about the European standards-setting process.
