EU-US Trade and Technology Council Inaugural Joint Statement

30 Sep 2021 02:50 PM

Pittsburgh Statement

The EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) met for the first time in Pittsburgh on 29 September 2021. It was co-chaired by European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai. The European Union and the United States reaffirm the TTC's objectives to: coordinate approaches to key global technology, economic, and trade issues; and to deepen transatlantic trade and economic relations, basing policies on shared democratic values.

We support the continued growth of the EU-US technology, economic and trade relationship and cooperation in addressing global challenges. We intend to collaborate to promote shared economic growth that benefits workers on both sides of the Atlantic, grow the transatlantic trade and investment relationship, fight the climate crisis, protect the environment, promote workers' rights, combat child and forced labour, expand resilient and sustainable supply chains, and expand cooperation on critical and emerging technologies. We stand together in continuing to protect our businesses, consumers, and workers from unfair trade practices, in particular those posed by non-market economies that are undermining the world trading system.

We share a strong desire to drive the digital transformation that spurs trade and investment, benefits workers, protects the environment and climate, strengthens our technological and industrial leadership, sets high standards globally, boosts innovation, and protects and promotes critical and emerging technologies and infrastructure. We intend to cooperate on the development and deployment of new technologies in ways that reinforce our shared democratic values, including respect for universal human rights, advance our respective efforts to address the climate change crisis, and encourage compatible standards and regulations. We intend to cooperate to effectively address the misuse of technology, to protect our societies from information manipulation and interference, promote secure and sustainable international digital connectivity, and support human rights defenders.

We seek inclusive economic growth that benefits all of our people, and intend to make a particular focus on inclusive growth for middle class and lower income people on both sides of the Atlantic. We also have a particular focus on opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The cooperation and exchanges of the TTC are without prejudice to the regulatory autonomy of the European Union and the United States and should respect the different legal systems in both jurisdictions. Cooperation within the TTC is intended to feed into coordination in multilateral bodies, including in the WTO, and wider efforts with like-minded partners, with the aim of promoting democratic and sustainable models of digital and economic governance.

To strengthen our cooperation, we identified the following areas of joint work over the coming months, with the intent of achieving concrete outcomes on these issues by the time of our next meeting.

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