The pandemic and events in Ukraine remind us that the partnership between the EU and the US is fundamental and should continue to intensify, both in depth and scope. In uncertain times and in an unstable world, such a partnership is an important building block for our shared prosperity. Renew Europe therefore welcomes the outcome of the second EU-U.S Trade and Technology Council (TTC) which started on Sunday and finished today.
The COVID—19 pandemic and the unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression of Russia against Ukraine have colossal social and economic consequences. Supply chains are heavily affected, such as those for semiconductors, critical minerals and clean energy. Renew Europe considers that the EU and the US should cooperate to mitigate risks and improve their resilience.
As a strong believer in the transatlantic partnership, Renew Europe salutes the will of both partners to collaborate closely on various issues. An inclusive Trade and Technology Council must be a central pillar of our Transatlantic relations. Resolving and preventing trade irritants should be our permanent objective, as well as the defence of, and further development of, the multilateral rules-based order and achieving high environmental, labour and human rights standards. In this respect, Renew Europe supports the establishment of a tripartite Trade and Labour Dialogue within the TTC to work on solutions to promote labour rights and fight against forced labour. Renew Europe also welcomes the EU and US commitment to increase the cooperation in the area of green public procurement.
Catharina Rinzema (VVD, Netherlands), Renew Europe standing shadow rapporteur for EU-US trade relations in the committee on International trade, declared: "In this unstable world, the EU and the US should be the pillar of stability. We should solve shortages such as in semiconductors, set the new standards for the digital transformation, and form a united block against the actions of authoritarian states. Democratic and liberal values should prevail, and I call upon both sides to push for this in our global trade relations and digital transformation."
Dragoş Tudorache (USR+, Romania), Renew Europe standing shadow rapporteur for EU-US relations in the committee on Foreign Affairs, added: “The rules of the digital future are yet to be written. The EU and the U.S. need to spearhead a global alliance of tech democracies that proactively and diligently shapes that future according to our values: democracy, fundamental rights, and the rule of law. The TTC can become a pillar of this alliance, a forum for the EU and the U.S. to coordinate on everything from export controls vis-à-vis authoritarian regimes to supply chain security, standards for new and emerging technologies, joint positions in international standardization fora, and rules governing technologies such as artificial intelligence. We can no longer afford to let others write these rules. For this, we need to give strategic priority to the work of the TTC and to strengthen it with an inter-parliamentary dimension.”