The Honorable Carlos Gutierrez
Secretary of Commerce
United States Department of Commerce

Dear Secretary Gutierrez,

The European-American Business Council (EABC) and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) represent EU and US-based global companies that recognize the value of a strong EU-US relationship and transatlantic leadership in the world economy.  Such leadership is essential in many sectors, and nowhere more so than in ensuring that people with disabilities and age-related limitations have equal access to the latest technology and are full participants in a global economy.  We applaud, therefore, your inclusion of e-Accessibility as a key area for US-EU cooperation during your remarks at the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union and the British Chamber of Commerce to Belgium on November 29. 

As you pointed out in your address, there is an important humanitarian case for ensuring that technology is accessible for people with disabilities.  The member companies of EABC and ITI take their responsibilities as corporate citizens seriously, and are dedicated to providing inclusive workplaces as well as the tools for a technologically inclusive society.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. is home to about 30 million working-age people with disabilities, while the European Commission estimates that 17 to 24 million live in the European Union; and The World Health Organization estimates that 600 million people of all ages live with disabilities worldwide.  These are large markets that must be addressed, and many social and economic benefits can be gained by working together to make ICT products more accessible.  Close cooperation between the United States and Europe, however, is essential to making progress on this issue.  Failure to achieve cooperation will harm the ICT industry, the global economy, and, most importantly, people with disabilities. 

You also mentioned the robust growth of India and China, their increasingly well-educated and productive workforce, and the challenge the US and EU may face in future to sustain innovative and competitive economies.  There is, in fact, a good business case for investing in development of accessible technologies and for developing globally harmonized e-Accessibility standards.  As the US and EU face new demographic challenges and the average age of workers climbs, our economies will greatly benefit when experienced workers with age-related limitations as well as workers with disabilities are provided with the tools and access to maintain productive working careers.

A key result of the 2005 US-EU Summit was the declaration, The United States and the European Union Initiative to Enhance Transatlantic Economic Integration and Growth.  This statement includes as part of the aim to spur “innovation and the development of technology,” a commitment to: “promote e-Accessibility for the disabled, elderly and other citizens with accessibility issues.”  In order to succeed in this goal for the 2006 US-EU Summit and demonstrate a meaningful commitment to promoting e-Accessibility, EABC and ITI advocate renewing and invigorating the transatlantic dialogue on convergence of e-Accessibility policy.  In particular, industry supports:

• Formally linking the development of EU and US e-Accessibility standards policy. As the European Commission develops its ICT accessibility policies and the United States Access Board launches its refresh of Section 508, these processes must be coordinated so that harmonization of approach can be achieved.  Transatlantic collaboration as an integral part of the development of new accessibility policies is a necessary step to achieve a global policy approach. 
• Strengthening the US-European Commission ICT Standards Dialogue.  EABC and ITI applaud the inclusion of e-Accessibility on the ICT Dialogue agenda, and encourage continued collaboration through this formal mechanism with renewed commitment from both sides.
• Maintaining openness and transparency in the development of EU and US e-Accessibility policy.  In order to ensure that accessibility policies are both fair and viable in the marketplace, input from all stakeholders must be considered from the earliest stages of policy formation. 

Our companies’ commitment to serving our customers includes making our products more usable and accessible to users with disabilities and age-related limitations.  EABC and ITI members have a long history of being committed to making ICT accessible.  We believe that all consumers ‑ including people with disabilities and aging workers ‑ will benefit from a global, harmonized approach to e-Accessibility which will ultimately result in greater innovation and a wider range of ICT products at lower costs. 

EABC and ITI member companies look forward to continuing our work and dialogue with US and EU policy makers.  Please do not hesitate to call upon us for further information and support.