The fifth meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council is taking place in Washington
The EU-US Trade and Technology Council was established in the summer of 2021, a few months after the current US President Joe Biden came to power. Initially, both sides expressed ambitious plans to bring the positions of Brussels and Washington closer together in strategic issues such as the security of supply chains, new technology standards, including in the field of artificial intelligence, as well as the evaluation of direct foreign investments.
However, as Peter Sparding, an expert at the US-German Marshall Fund, admitted, practice shows that even when Europe-friendly democrats are in power, finding common denominators is difficult.
“It’s not that we need to solve the basic problems in order to build good economic relations. But it’s annoying to see that the solution of the other issues has practically stopped,” Sparding said.
The main exception is aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Expert working groups established under the auspices of the Trade and Technology Council have made it possible to effectively coordinate the implementation of various restrictions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But further aid to Ukraine is currently stuck in Congress. The issue is tied to the domestically important debate over migration and Mexican border security. Former US President Donald Trump opposes any compromises with the Democratic Party.
Sparding admitted that in other issues as well, the approach of the European Parliament and the US presidential elections does not allow us to hope for much progress.
“There is not much that can be done politically at the moment. But we also have experience with large transatlantic trade negotiations before. They lasted until 2016 and ended in failure. Since then, the ambitions have decreased significantly,” admitted the expert of the US German Marshall Fund.
French President Emmanuel Macron has recently said that Europe should realize that Americans care primarily about what happens in their country, and secondly what happens in China. An expert from the German Marshall Fund reminded that the USA’s turn towards Asia had already started around 2010.
“Previous US decision-makers have tried to reassure the European Union that they can go and chew gum indifferently and that they can address both sides at the same time.
If you remember, there was a time when trade talks were held with both Asia and Europe at the same time. Because it cannot be said that local officials have completely forgotten about Europe. This can be seen well in the situation with Ukraine. Until the current blockade in Congress, the US was very actively involved in this issue. In addition, there have long been concerns in Europe that the US could move away at some point. Therefore, the Europeans were a little worried about what they would do if big brother no longer paid so much attention to them,” said the expert.
According to Sparding, a greater willingness to seek compromises on trade issues in Washington could arise if Biden is re-elected for a second term.
“Many politicians have realized that trade issues are not going to bring them popularity. On the contrary, they could cause them problems, especially in swing states. So I never predicted that Biden would take any significant risks in this area in his first term because there are also many other pressing issues. This is not necessarily necessary for him and carries with it many risks,” concluded the expert of the US German Marshall Fund.
No less complicated discussions between the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, and the US Trade Representative, Katrina Taja, also continue regarding the tariffs introduced under Trump for European aluminum and steel. Despite repeated negotiations, the application of these fees has only been suspended and not completely abolished.
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2024-01-30 05:52:14
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