Commenting on the first Transatlantic Trade&Technology Council in Pittsburgh, Reinhard Bütikofer, transatlantic expert of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, says:
“I am glad that the Trade&Tech Council is no longer just a good idea, but starts becoming a practical venue to address major economic challenges as a fallout from the global pandemic, momentous technological change, the escalating climate crisis, and the efforts by authoritarian regimes to undermine the global rules-based order. However, the fact that just a few days ago it looked as if the meeting in Pittsburgh might be postponed signals that we are far from a transatlantic honeymoon to start with. From a European point of view, we must insist that “exploring solutions to steel and aluminium tariffs”, as EVP Dombrovskis put it, is not enough; the exploration must produce results soon, and these results must then be implemented.
TTC efforts must also be coordinated with a larger number of partners, including particularly Japan, India, the UK, and Canada. The US and the EU should try to be good team players in this regard. The TTC talks in Pittsburgh should also be used to promote strong cooperation between President Biden´s Build Back Better World initiative and President Von der Leyen´s Global Gateway initiative.”