“We want to see concrete action to facilitate bilateral trade. This is what can make a difference”, said European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Thursday 25 May, speaking about the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC). The fourth meeting of this body will be held in Luleå, Sweden, on 30 and 31 May.
Mr Dombrovskis hopes, for example, to see results on the mutual recognition of standards or on the use of digital tools to facilitate trade.
In Brussels on 25 May, the trade ministers also voiced their support for the Commission in achieving “ambitious” results at the TTC, according to Sweden's trade minister, Johan Forssell.
Among the TTC topics, cooperation on export controls and investment control is also of interest to both partners, albeit in different ways (see EUROPE 13187/17).
On Friday 26 May, the European Commission is expected to propose a second version of the joint declaration to be adopted at the end of the TTC, and the changes are likely to focus on those parts linked to economic security, according to two sources (see EUROPE 13187/17).
The subject of steel and aluminium
Questioned by EUROPE, Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis assured us that his departments were working intensively to reach an agreement with Washington by October on the global agreement on sustainable steel and aluminium. It must contain the definitive withdrawal of the Section 232 tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, which have been suspended for the time being, as Mr Dombrovskis explained.
Although the October deadline is fast approaching, “we shouldn’t be talking about a plan B for the time being”, he added.
At the ‘Trade’ Council meeting, several ministers stressed the urgent need to reach an agreement with Washington quickly, according to an EU source. Spain’s Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Margarida Méndez Bértolo, also stressed this point on her arrival at the EU Council: “Time is running out in these negotiations”.
Transatlantic agreement on critical raw materials
Member States also have high expectations of bilateral relations: announcements on the future EU-US partnership on critical raw materials (see EUROPE 13139/3).
This is currently under discussion and is taking longer than expected, given that until recently, the two partners did not share the same vision of the very nature of the agreement. Washington wants a legally binding partnership, which was not the EU’s idea.
However, the EU seems ready to move in this direction and the Commission must de facto obtain a formal negotiating mandate from the EU-27. Mr Dombrovskis confirmed that this would happen shortly in order to bring the partnership to a rapid conclusion. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)