Brussels So now after all: The transatlantic economic summit in Pittsburgh can take place – as originally planned. In the past few days there has been a heated argument in Brussels about postponing the meeting next Wednesday.
The French government demanded the adjournment out of anger that the US government had threaded the new Pacific security alliance Aukus behind its back and outperformed France in a lucrative submarine deal with Australia. The French Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton called for the transatlantic relationship to be “paused and restarted”.
But with this stance, the French met resistance in the EU. Several member states wanted to stick to the date. Even within the Commission, with all due understanding for the anger of the French, there were weighty voices that advised against the opening meeting of the “EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC)” about the game in a geopolitical conflict between the USA and France do. After all, the TTC is based on a European proposal.
A phone call between US President Joe Biden and France’s Head of State Emmanuel Macron helped defuse the conflict. The decision was made on Thursday evening, and an EU spokeswoman reported on Twitter: “The commission confirms that the Trade and Technology Council will take place in Pittsburgh next week.”
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At the meeting, the US and the EU want to agree on a technology alliance, the aim of which is to shape standards for artificial intelligence and the data networks of the future and to prevent high-tech from being misused by authoritarian regimes for human rights violations. It is a matter of deepening “transatlantic trade and economic relations on the basis of shared democratic values,” says the final declaration that is available to the Handelsblatt.
The document shows that the EU was largely able to push through its agenda. Agreements during export controls are of central importance. “We have established common principles and areas for cooperation on export control,” the statement said.
Concern about the German auto industry
The US is thus accommodating the EU on one important point. After the experiences of the Trump presidency, Europeans fear that the US will prevent the delivery of certain critical components, especially microprocessors, to China – and that it could also affect business by EU companies that depend on these components. The federal government is particularly concerned about the German auto industry, which is heavily geared towards the Chinese market.
“Where export controls for semiconductors are required, we agree that they must be designed and implemented in a coordinated manner, taking into account the effects on industry and research institutions on the other side as well as foreign policy goals as much as possible,” assure you the EU and the US are now.
The final declaration, however, largely excludes the trade disputes fueled by ex-President Donald Trump. The dispute over the US tariffs on steel and aluminum will not be resolved in Pittsburgh. But that the Americans care about the talks with the Europeans is shown by how high-ranking they want to receive their guests from Brussels.
The US delegation to the TTC is to lead Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Government Trade Representative Katherine Tai. The EU wants to send the Commission Deputy President Margrethe Vestager and her counterpart Valdis Dombrovskis to Pittsburgh.
Norbert Röttgen, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, recently warned of European short-circuit reactions. “This advice is fundamentally important in order to arrive at a common transatlantic policy towards China in terms of trade policy and the key future technologies,” the CDU politician told Handelsblatt. “The US wants to work with us, but they won’t wait for us.”
In fact, US President Joe Biden will meet the tips of Australia, India and Japan on Friday. This summit will also be about setting common standards on technology issues and supply chains. The EU must be careful not to sideline itself. SPD foreign politician Christoph Matschie also warned: “We can only achieve technological sovereignty with partners, cooperation with the USA is extremely important.”
“Risk-based” regulation of AI
The passages in the final declaration that deal with AI make it clear how strongly the consultations correspond to European ideas. The EU and the USA are jointly in favor of a “risk-based” regulation of AI – the Americans are thus following the European approach. This stipulates strict requirements for or even a ban on AI applications that are incompatible with human dignity.
The statement said: “AI technologies can help address many important challenges we face and improve our quality of life.” He continued: “The EU and the US recognize that AI technologies also involve risks if they are not responsibly developed, deployed and used in accordance with human rights and our shared values. ”The EU and US therefore reaffirm their“ willingness and intention to develop and deploy trustworthy and responsible AI ”.
When it comes to regulating platforms such as Google and Facebook, the first results of the negotiations are also impressive from a European point of view. The plan is to “hold a discussion about effective regulatory measures to combat the economic power of the largest online platforms” and to ensure “effective competition”. The declaration also highlights the risk of disinformation and online hatred, which is intensified by the corporations’ algorithms.
Corona shows fragile supply chains
Specifically, the EU and the USA want to set up ten working groups. It is particularly important for both sides to reduce their dependence on Asian chip manufacturers. The most modern chips are developed in the USA and partly also in Europe, but they are produced in Asia. The pandemic has shown both Washington and Brussels how fragile overseas supply chains are.
Although the declaration does not mention China, it is clear that the transatlantic council is directed against the People’s Republic. China is a high-tech dictatorship and seeks global leadership in key technologies. A working group will deal with “preventing the misuse of technology to threaten security and human rights”.
At the same time, the declaration opposes “worrying non-market practices”. What is meant are the forced transfer of technology, “state-sponsored theft of intellectual property” and “market-distorting industrial subsidies, including support for state corporations”.
These formulations are clearly aimed at state capitalist China. However, the paper avoids a particularly confrontational choice of words – and is thus in line with the EU, which wants to denounce the unfair trade practices of the Chinese without falling into the rhetoric of a cold war.
USA and EU want to shape technology standards
In the past few years, Europeans have always felt taken by surprise by the Americans. This became clear, for example, in the debate about 5G real-time mobile communications, when Washington harshly demanded the exclusion of the Chinese network supplier Huawei. In the future, both sides want to coordinate better and strengthen “cooperation in research and innovation” in 5G and 6G.
When it comes to future technologies, Americans and Europeans vow to join forces to shape technology standards – and thus to thwart the ambition of the Chinese to spread authoritarian values: they want to “defend common interests and democratic values in international standardization activities for critical and emerging technologies”. Mutual consultations are planned for this purpose.
A wake-up call for both sides was recently China’s attempt to enforce a new Internet protocol at the International Telecommunication Union that would have greatly expanded state control and censorship options. The project failed, but showed how strategically the Chinese are proceeding.
Tyson Barker, technology expert at the German Society for Foreign Policy (DGAP), sums up: “The Europeans got what they wanted.”
More: Economic war of the 21st century: How China is displacing the German DIN standard