The EU and US have held the first meeting of their joint Trade and Technology Council in Pittsburgh. They agreed to work together on a wide range of issues, from rebalancing the global semiconductor supply chain to standards for 6G and new AI technologies. Several working groups have been set up to further the goals.
The council was co-chaired by European Commission Executive Vice Presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis, who are responsible for respectively digital and trade affairs, as well as the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
The EU and US agreed in June to set up the council in an effort to ease growing tensions over issues such as regulation and taxation of internet companies, semiconductor shortages and the increasing intensity of global cybersecurity threats. A further test of their willingness to cooperate will come in October, when countries around the world are expected to finalise a deal to impose new minimum tax rules on multinational companies.
According to a joint statement issued after the EU-US meeting, ten working groups were agreed to continue the bilateral work. These cover:
- Technology Standards, including AI and other emerging technologies. The EU and the US will work on a collaborative approach, including in international forums, and share information regarding technical proposals in specific technology areas.
- Climate and Clean Tech. This group will identify opportunities to support technology development, transatlantic trade and investment in climate-neutral technologies, products and services, including collaboration in third countries, research and innovation, and to jointly explore tools for calculating embedded greenhouse gas emissions in global trade.
- Secure Supply Chains. Alongside a dedicated track on semiconductors, the Secure Supply Chains working group will focus on advancing supply chain resilience and security of supply in key sectors for the green and digital transition and for securing protection of citizens. A first focus will be on clean energy, pharmaceuticals, and critical materials. The work on semiconductor issues will initially focus on short-term supply chain issues before considering longer-term challenges.
- Information and Communication Technology and Services (ICTS) Security and Competitiveness. The group focuses on supply chain security for sensitive and critical areas such as 5G, undersea cables, data centres, and cloud infrastructure, as well as general data security. In addition to protecting their own infrastructure, the EU and US will work on financing more secure systems in third countries. They also aim to reinforce cooperation on research and innovation for 5G and 6G systems, developing a common vision for the next generation of wireless technology.
- Data Governance and Technology Platforms: This group covers a range of issues, from privacy and competition regulation to limiting the spread of misinformation and illegal content online. Issues flagged include illegal and harmful content and their algorithmic amplification, transparency, and access to platforms' data for researchers as well as the democratic responsibility of online intermediaries. The countries said they will support multi-stakeholder dialogue and voluntary initiatives to complement regulation in some areas. The working group also will discuss common approaches on the role of cloud infrastructure and services.
- Misuse of Technology Threatening Security and Human Rights. This group is tasked to combat arbitrary or unlawful surveillance, including on social media platforms; explore building an effective mechanism to respond to internet shutdowns, in conjunction with the G7 and others likeminded countries; work to protect human rights defenders online; and increase transatlantic cooperation to address foreign information manipulation, including disinformation, and interference with democratic processes, while upholding freedom of expression and privacy rights.
- Export Controls. Technical consultations will look at legislative and regulatory developments and exchange information on risk assessments and licensing good practices, as well as on compliance and enforcement approaches, promote convergent control approaches on sensitive dual-use technologies, and perform joint industry outreach on dual-use export controls.
- Investment Screening. With a growing number of checks on foreign investment in both regions, this group will look at how these security concerns can be accommodated and coordinated. The group will exchange information on investment trends impacting security, including strategic trends with respect to industries concerned, origin of investments, and types of transactions, and share best practices on risk analysis and systems for risk mitigation, including data protection. The group is expected to conduct a joint virtual outreach event for stakeholders.
- Promoting Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Access to and Use of Digital Tools. The group will launch outreach activities that will offer opportunities for SMEs and underserved communities to share their needs, experience, strategies and best practices with policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic with a view to ensuring a better understanding of the barriers to their digital empowerment. The dialogue should result in recommendations for EU and US policymakers to implement that will help to accelerate access to and the uptake of digital technologies.
- Global Trade Challenges. The group will focus on challenges from non-market economic policies and practices, avoiding new and unnecessary technical barriers in products and services of emerging technology, promoting and protecting labour rights and decent work, and, following further consultations, trade and environment issues.
