"SACLAY, France -- Senior U.S. and European Union officials agreed to expand cooperation on supply chains for critical technologies including semiconductors and materials used in their production, they said at a high-level gathering about shared concerns surrounding high-tech international commerce.
At the second meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council, the two sides unveiled initiatives to better align policies and work in 10 areas, including high-tech supply chains, artificial intelligence and international industrial standards. In response to sanctions on Russia, the group added an additional work stream on global food security.
The council, which met for the first time in Pittsburgh in September, seeks to identify emerging or potential areas of friction between the two allied economies and find ways to work cooperatively. It is led on the U.S. side by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and on the EU side by Executive Vice Presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis.
Work on the TTC last year facilitated coordination and imposition of unprecedented sanctions on Russia, particularly in the area of export controls, the officials said.
Much of the council's work will take time to yield results, so the leaders are eager to show it isn't just a talking shop. On Monday, they said they had agreed on principles for coordinating research and development of semiconductors and limiting subsidies. Prompted by the global microchip shortage and realization that Western economies lack semiconductor production capabilities, officials on both sides of the Atlantic are seeking to promote their microchip industries.
"It is in everyone's interest . . . for both the U.S. and EU to make investments in a coordinated way that deepens the entire ecosystem of the semiconductor supply chain," Ms. Raimondo said. "It will be good for both industry and national security."
The two sides are trying to resolve a two-decade fight over subsidies to jetliner makers Airbus SE and Boeing Co., so they are aware of the risk that government support to industry can be wasted and become a source of friction.
Ms. Vestager said that while subsidies will be necessary to help launch some private-sector investments, "what we can do is ensure taxpayers' money is well-spent," she said.
The two sides are also establishing what they called an alert mechanism to track trends in the industry and flag emerging supply issues so a shortage like the current one in microchips doesn't recur.
The TTC was established last June largely to address competitive threats posed by nonmarket economies, which at that time mostly meant China.
The TTC remains focused on China, particularly its role in emerging technologies.
On Monday, the group said it had set up a mechanism to share information on standardization, the process through which industry and governments create international norms for products and services, particularly in emerging technologies such as 5G communications and artificial intelligence." [1]
The deficit of chips was caused by the massive shift of people to electronic communication and private car driving during the pandemic. A pandemic came about unexpectedly, with one man somewhere wanting to eat what he shouldn’t be eating. How the TTC will achieve prevention of such a “chip shortage as it exists now, caused by an unexpected pandemic,” remains unclear.
1. U.S. News: U.S. and EU Agree To Expand Trade Ties
Michaels, Daniel.
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 17 May 2022: A.2.
Komentarų nėra:
Rašyti komentarą