US, EU AGREE TO FURTHER TRADE AND TECHNOLOGY TALKS

The United States and the European Union agreed Wednesday to carry on the work of 10 expert-level panels to explore and recommend solutions to a variety of trade disputes and challenges.

During the first of two days of trade and technology talks in Pittsburgh, they instructed the working groups to continue deliberations on matters ranging from climate and cleantech and technology standards to global trade issues, including tariffs that have strained U.S.-EU relations and predatory commercial practices by China.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Trade Representative Katherine Tai led the U.S. delegation, accompanied by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, for the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council. The meeting took place in an atmosphere clouded by recent EU anger over being excluded from a new U.S.-British-Australian security initiative for the Indo-Pacific that aims to counter China’s increasing assertiveness in the region.

Raimondo said the contentious Indo-Pacific dispute was outside the mandate of the TTC and was not discussed in the talks, while Blinken and the EU delegation hailed the talks as extremely productive and cooperative in pushing to create new rules of the road for global commerce.

“We’re working very, very closely together,” Blinken said. “When we’re working together we have a unique ability to help shape the norms and standards and rules that will govern the way technology is used; technology affects the lives of virtually all of our citizens. We have an ability to set the pace to set the standard.”