Growth in transatlantic trade will be badly stifled unless the EU and the US can agree a common regulatory platform for business, Mr Niall FitzGerald, Unilever chairman, has warned.

Mr FitzGerald, who was in Dublin to address an IBEC conference on regulation, said the gap between US and EU regulations could prevent companies from tapping into a market that is worth more than $1 billion (€0.8 billion) each day.

He pointed to examples of starkly divergent regulatory regimes, such as rules on genetically modified organisms or systems for the approval of foods designed to confer a health benefit on the consumer.

In the latter case, approval in the EU can take eight times longer than in the US, according to Mr FitzGerald.

"Are we to argue that consumers in the EU are eight times safer than those in the US? I really do not think so," he said.

He also highlighted disparities between US and EU rules on patents, calling for the creation of an EU-wide patenting system.

"Obtaining a patent in Europe takes twice as long and costs three times as much as in the US. This is a direct and unnecessary impediment to innovation," he said.

Mr FitzGerald is chairman of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), a group of chief executives from both sides of the Atlantic who are advising the US and EU governments on how best to eliminate barriers to trade.

He believes that the group's strategy of taking a common position on a small number of competitive issues will bear greater fruit than a large-scale campaign.

Mr FitzGerald's views were earlier supported by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who told the IBEC delegates that neither the EU nor the US should be fearful of losing ground by communicating more with the competition.

"I firmly believe that economic success in globalised markets is not a zero-sum game," he said. "Everyone has the potential to gain."

Mr FitzGerald said he hoped visible evidence of governments' commitment to breaking down trade barriers would emerge at the EU-US summit to be held in the Republic in June.

TABD has established working groups in areas including intellectual property, international accounting standards and open trade.

The group is also working to encourage a World Trade Organisation (WTO) settlement that Mr FitzGerald believes could lift some 140 million people out of poverty by 2015.

Mr FitzGerald said a new WTO agreement could also boost global trade by adding an economy the size of Canada to the world.

"It's an ambition worth fighting for," he suggested.