TTC Making Progress but Needs to 'Go Further,' EU Official Says
The U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council has so far made “good progress” on export controls and foreign investment screening, but both sides can do more to further harmonize their trade and investment restrictions, said Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU’s top trade official. Speaking at the European Parliament this week, Dombrovskis said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlights the need for more trade collaboration.
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Although Russia’s war “makes it totally clear that setting up the TTC was the right thing to do,” the council needs “to go further than simply implementing what we decided in Pittsburgh,” Dombrovskis said, referencing the TTC’s inaugural meeting last year (see 2109270027 and 2109290083). “Because if the EU and U.S. do not lead the way in shaping the rules, tools and standards of the future, we now see very clearly what the alternative is.”
He said he will push for more progress at the upcoming TTC meeting in May, and will specifically look to increase cooperation in several “strategic technology areas,” such as semiconductors, quantum technology and artificial intelligence. The export control working group needs “more coherence” and information sharing around export control policies, especially surrounding critical technologies, he said. He also hopes to “expand our cooperation” on foreign investment screening.
“We all know that there is no low-hanging fruit in the TTC workstreams,” Dombrovskis said. “So making progress will require dedication and creativity, as well as strong political will and legitimacy.”
But the TTC deserves praise for the progress it has made, Dombrovskis added. He said the “coordinated trans-Atlantic response” to Russia, which has resulted in a wave of U.S. and European sanctions and export controls, “would not have been as fast and smooth without the trust and good cooperation already built by the TTC.”