The EU Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, called for stronger economic ties with the United States in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington on Wednesday 12 April. “I am a fully committed transatlanticist”, he said at the start of his speech. For him, the Baltic countries, where he comes from, have a special historical link with the United States and are fully convinced that “both sides of the Atlantic - and indeed, the global community – fare better when the EU and U.S. work together”.
What is also certain for Mr Dombrovskis is that the two transatlantic partners must strengthen their cooperation, especially in the economic and climate field: “In my view, we should be aiming for nothing less than a green transatlantic marketplace”. This should be one of the objectives of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC), which meets for the fourth time in May (see EUROPE 13155/26).
Referring to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Commissioner stressed the need to “not be putting up barriers”.
More generally, the EU and Washington should align their work on economic security, Mr Dombrovskis said. He added: “Later this year, the EU will present a new Economic Security Strategy”. The aim is to prevent the leakage of sensitive technology to authoritarian regimes. For this reason, the EU is also considering a European investment control system for dual-use goods (see EUROPE 13153/17). In doing so, it “will make every effort to align its economic de-risking strategy with our likeminded partners, including the US”, the Commissioner stressed. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)