Trade Committee Chair Bernd Lange (S&D, DE) issued the following statement Monday, ahead of the first meeting of the Trade and Technology Council between the EU and the US.
“The transatlantic relations have come under pressure in the recent weeks. The events around the trilateral security pact have taught us that the EU needs to develop the concept of open strategic autonomy further. The Trade and Technology Council is all the more important in this context. It is a very concrete platform that forms an integral part of our positive transatlantic trade agenda. It should deliver tangible benefits for our people. To ensure this, let’s not overload the Council and let’s look for quick wins. Each working group should set clear timelines and agree on concrete deliverables.
The work of the Council is in no way a starting point of negotiations for a trade agreement, neither is it a platform to counter China. It is a very concrete way to enhance the kind of trade and technology we as democracies want to see.”
Background
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Joe Biden launched the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) at the US-EU Summit in Brussels on June 15, 2021. The Council is to serve as a forum for the transatlantic partners to coordinate approaches to key global trade, economic, and technology issues including in standards, secure supply chains, export control and investment screening cooperation, or global trade challenges.
The first meeting of the TTC is on 29 September 2021, in Pittsburgh, US.