North Americans may not have heard of the Canada/U.S. Regulatory Cooperation Council. But whether you're a C-suite executive, a shareholder, a small business owner or just doing some shopping, the RCC is working to tackle the red tape and regulatory burdens that often vex consumers and businesses alike, not to mention the regulators themselves.Differing national regulations and standards determine, for example, whether a product can go to market in Canada or the United States— which explains why Canadian consumers, for example, may be frustrated when they can't buy or access products they see advertised in American media, and vice versa.An even bigger problem is that this “tyranny of small differences” reduces cross-border commerce, making it nearly impossible for many small businesses to build their customer base and grow their companies in neighbouring jurisdictions.Indeed, differing regulations between the U.S. and Canada — the world's most successful trading partners — have had the unintended consequence of hindering the flow of goods and services in our integrated economy, raising prices and eating into business productivity and profitability on both sides of the border.For the past 12 years, the RCC has been committed to ensuring the rules and regulations involved in doing cross-border business are aligned whenever possible between the U.S. and Canada. The council also protects the health and safety of citizens and the environment on both sides of the border.In a period of economic volatility, supply chain challenges and extreme climate change events, these are especially important responsibilities. Yet they've been semi-neglected in recent years.The Canadian American Business Council successfully called for the creation of the RCC in 2011. At the urging of the CABC, the council was launched by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to great fanfare among businesses on both sides of the border.In its early years, the Canadian bureaucracy did most of the heavy lifting for the RCC, first via the Privy Council and then the Treasury Board Secretariat. In the U.S., White House entities — the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of International Regulatory Affairs (OMB and OIRA, respectively) — played their role.And then came the Trump administration. To put it diplomatically, Canadian officials didn't find the Trump White House quite as easy to deal with. And long overdue efforts to renegotiate and modernize NAFTA — now the USMCA — necessarily took centre stage.Regulatory harmonization, concurrently, took a back seat — which is ironic, because the small and medium-sized companies most plagued by regulatory hurdles are the very firms the U.S., Mexico and Canada want playing a greater role in North American trade under the USMCA.And so it's time to redouble our efforts. The timing, in fact, couldn't be more apt for a vow renewal in a harmonization relationship that's grown more vital in light of global circumstances. The current economic realities demand attention and action.The COVID-19 pandemic vividly illustrated the vulnerabilities of our supply chains. Regulatory obstacles pose even more headaches for those navigating tenuous supply chains.But the pandemic also showed us we can work across borders to deploy personal protective equipment (PPE) and life-saving vaccines. We must use what we've learned since March 2020 to help the North American economy rebound by tackling counterproductive regulatory redundancy. Doing so will boost efficiencies in cross-border trade and ease supply chain woes while cutting costs for both governments and businesses of all sizes, as well as everyday Canadians and Americans.U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have acknowledged that regulatory cooperation can promote economic growth, competitiveness, innovation and create jobs while protecting high standards of public health, welfare, safety and environmental protection.Kickstarting the RCC's efforts to achieve more regulatory harmony will bolster supply chain resiliency between the U.S. and Canada in crucial sectors that include medical devices, PPE, critical minerals, semiconductors, electric vehicles and batteries and solar energy, and so many more.Let's get back to work.Maryscott Greenwood is the CEO of the Canadian American Business Council and a partner at Crestview Strategy US.  This commentary is adapted from her testimony to the House of Commons, Standing Committee on International Trade, May 15, 2023