Bennett, R-Utah, say that what is needed is not necessarily a free-trade agreement between America and the European Union -- but a harmonization of regulations.

Right now, he told National Press Club Monday, there are several different sets of standards that manufacturers have to meet to sell products in both places.

"If you produce a car and want to sell it on both sides of the Atlantic, you have to crash it twice," Bennett said, noting that both sides have different crash-test benchmarks before vehicles can be sold in their respective countries.

Bennett, chairman of the TransAtlantic Policy Network, says both the U.S. and the E.U. must work toward breaking down any walls to trade that are possible. Bennett said the idea, now being pushed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is to reduce regulation barriers between the two sides by 2015. The initiative does not affect tariffs.

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., said right now trade between America and the E.U. is about $500 billion annually, with the United States exporting $186 billion a year.

"But we know we can do better," he said, noting that the differences between the two sides has "hampered" the promotion of trade.

Bennett and Costa spoke at a forum sponsored by the Press Club and The Streit Council on the same day as the U.S.-E.U. Summit in Washington. President Bush and other officials are expected to discuss economic integration at the summit, particularly harmonizing the regulatory standards.