Washington – On the occasion of the 6th Ministerial Meeting of the US-European Union (EU) Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Leuven, Belgium, the Business Roundtable met with the US to coordinate approaches on key technology and trade issues. Encouraging continued bilateral engagement between EU leaders.
Since the TTC's first ministerial meeting held in Pittsburgh on September 29, 2021, the Business Roundtable has highlighted the TTC's potential to minimize trade disruption caused by divergent approaches to regulating the technology sector. I've come to realize that. In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Business Roundtable calls for accelerating U.S.-EU coordination on export controls, supply chain resiliency, and measures to address common trade concerns with third countries. announced the use of. The roundtable then announced the publication of a joint roadmap for trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) and risk management, as well as the creation of the U.S.-EU Strategic Standardization Information Mechanism and the Transatlantic Initiative on Sustainable Trade (TIST). I admired it. TTC. As TTC ministers meet in Belgium this week, the Business Roundtable supports the following direction for future work on trade and technology issues:
Strengthening transatlantic trade in digital and environmental goods: The United States and the EU should work together to remove barriers to trade in digital goods and services, as well as environmental goods and technology. This will require continued close cooperation between the United States and the European Union at the World Trade Organization to prevent the expansion of discriminatory tariffs on digital goods and services. The United States and the European Union should also continue to advocate for rules that allow the free flow of data across borders, subject to legitimate exceptions. This requires us to adopt an open, evidence-based approach to encouraging sustainable practices in a way that avoids duplication of standards and discrimination against each of our products. It also depends on ensuring mutual recognition of conformity assessments in key industries and participation by relevant bodies on both sides of the Atlantic in their respective standard-setting processes. Finally, this means working together to develop a common approach to trading carbon-intensive products.
Developing and researching common standards in critical and emerging technologies: The United States and the EU should also advance cooperation in emerging and critical technologies such as AI, semiconductors, 6G, and quantum computing. As noted above, the United States and the EU have taken significant steps bilaterally and through the G7 to address potential AI risks and develop a common approach to AI. Both governments now need to work together to coordinate plans to deploy AI to boost transatlantic competitiveness and economic growth. Additionally, both governments are considering new regulations in this area and should work together to assess the impact of proposed measures on economic growth and security.
Streamline working groups and create more meaningful avenues for stakeholder engagement: Business Roundtable recognizes the yeoman work of U.S. government and European Commission staff over the past three years across 10 TTC workstreams. Masu. As bilateral engagement on trade and technology issues continues, we recommend that the United States and the EU focus on reducing work flows that directly align with the most significant trade irritants. It also recommends that the government adopt a more systematic approach to stakeholder engagement, modeled on his day-long TIST event in January.
The TTC has become an important forum for re-establishing trust in the bilateral economic relationship between the US and the EU. The Business Roundtable will support future efforts to deepen transatlantic trade and economic relations, based on a shared commitment to promoting free market principles and democratic models of digital governance.
