The EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) has gained interest in recent weeks thanks to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which comes into force on 1 January. It discriminates against European producers with its tax credits favouring green technologies made in the US, Mexico and Canada, the EU says.
While the TTC was supposed to find ways to cooperate on technologies, including green technologies, Europeans were disappointed by the passing of this legislation across the Atlantic without any coordination taking place. However, the TTC will not be the primary forum for resolving this issue, just as it is not the primary forum for the steel and aluminium dispute. A task force has been specially created to deal with the IRA and to try to find an arrangement between the two transatlantic partners (see EUROPE 13051/26).
The subject is expected to be discussed at the meeting, which will be attended by the Commission’s executive vice-presidents, Valdis Dombrovskis and Margrethe Vestager. Their colleague Thierry Breton, who participated in the last meeting, will not participate in this meeting in Washington.
On 1 December, US President Joe Biden told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, that there would be “tweaks” to the IRA so that European companies would not be discriminated against. “We’re going to continue to create manufacturing jobs in America but not at the expense of Europe”, he said.
The joint declaration has yet to be finalised
At the end of the meeting, the two sides are expected to adopt a joint declaration, which has been in preparation for several weeks. This has not yet been adopted by the EU Member States at the time of writing.
The Commission has recently come up with wording on the IRA that should bring the 27 into agreement, according to two EU sources. The law is mentioned in the text as a sign of common recognition that the subject is of concern to Europeans and reference is made to the working group that is working on it.
At a meeting of EU member states’ ambassadors on 1 December, France asked for adjustments to certain passages on health data exchange, quantum technologies and the mention of China, two EU sources said. Germany, on the other hand, made remarks that were more of a formal nature.
Expected results
The joint statement, which is about ten pages long, according to a draft version EUROPE has consulted, details the results achieved so far by some of the working groups and the commitments to follow up on others.
One of the main outcomes of the TTC should be the launch of a transatlantic initiative on sustainable trade. This includes cooperation on standards and, by way of illustration, the EU and the US are committed to developing a common charger model for electric vehicles.
The declaration is also accompanied by a roadmap on artificial intelligence (AI). It covers assessment and measurement tools for trustworthy AI, risk management, and will “inform our approaches to AI risk management and trustworthy AI” and feed into discussions on international standards.
The declaration also addresses connectivity projects, cooperation on new technologies, standards, value chains, in particular for semiconductors, the promotion of common values on the Internet, export controls, economic coercion and investment screening.
However, eyes are largely on the IRA on the European continent, with very high expectations from Member States, the European Parliament and among businesses.
The representative of large companies in Brussels, BusinessEurope, is particularly concerned about the fate of its members once the IRA comes into force. “If implemented in a non-discriminatory way, the IRA can also bring about opportunities for EU-US cooperation, leading to more investment and employment across the pond”, said the organisation’s director, Markus Beyrer. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)