EU trade ministers will have the opportunity to talk with the US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, in Prague on Monday 31 October, during their informal meeting which will start the day before. She will join the EU27 at lunch to discuss transatlantic trade relations.
This will be an opportunity to address the thorny issue of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which will dominate the discussions, according to an EU diplomat. The EU accuses Washington of discriminating against European producers because the IRA favours US manufacturers in the granting of tax credits on electric vehicles (see EUROPE 13012/16).
The EU Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, has raised the issue with Katherine Tai several times in recent weeks and both sides had agreed to launch an EU-US task force on the IRA (see EUROPE 13051/26) on 25 October. The objective for Europeans is to be exempted from the US measure.
In addition, the EU-US Trade and Technology Council will meet for the third time in Washington on 5 December (see EUROPE 13050/20).
Geostrategic importance of trade
In the current context, trade is of strategic importance to limit some of the effects of the crisis, according to an EU source, which is why the ministers will be discussing it. It is about how to react to disruptions in supply chains or to evaluate the European response.
Trade with Ukraine will also be addressed, with a particular focus on trade facilitation. The EU suspended tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian imports for one year on 4 June (see EUROPE 12965/11).
This issue is also expected to be raised in the discussion with Mrs Tai, in order to try to get the US on board with such measures to support Ukraine. So far, Washington has only suspended tariffs in Section 232 on steel and aluminium for Kyiv.
Digitalisation of trade
Recent announcements in the area of digital trade will be discussed by the ministers, as will the start of negotiations between the EU and Japan, announced on 7 October, to include rules on cross-border data flows in the Economic Partnership Agreement.
The meeting will also discuss the moratorium on e-commerce at the World Trade Organization (WTO). This exempts electronic trade from tariffs, but several WTO members want to end it (see EUROPE 12974/2).
Finally, the ministers will have the opportunity to exchange views with the Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, Bernd Lange (S&D, German), during dinner on Sunday 30 October. He will present the Parliament’s expectations on trade policy to the ministers. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)