On Wednesday 20 May, the European Parliament approved, by a large majority (527 votes in favour, 62 against and 59 abstentions), an own-initiative report setting out its vision for a comprehensive European Union strategy on artificial intelligence applied to trade. The report was led by Brando Benifei (S&D, Italian). Among other points, MEPs ask the Commission to “analyse, within the impact assessments of free trade agreements, which sectors are likely to be affected by AI and to assess the impact of AI use on workers’ rights and on the environment”.
In the adopted text, MEPs consider that “AI can accelerate EU exports and imports” by reducing barriers to market entry and compliance costs, allowing companies to access new markets, “provided that SMEs have fair access to AI infrastructure”. They ask the Commission, among other things, “to encourage open source artificial intelligence solutions contributing to increased competition and reduced dependence on non-European suppliers”. MEPs also call on the Commission to ensure that the anti-coercion instrument and trade defence instruments form part of a coherent system preventing “the instrumentalisation of artificial intelligence-related dependencies”.
Recognising that Europe’s competitiveness in trade in goods depends increasingly on the productivity enabled by artificial intelligence in strategic sectors such as manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceuticals and energy technologies, MEPs argue that the Commission should “reflect these interests systematically in trade negotiations by securing effective market access, robust disciplines on non-tariff barriers, and enforceable provisions that maintain a level playing field by preventing unfair competition and technology-related distortions, while recognising the EU’s right to regulate”.
These agreements must also “protect regulatory autonomy and preserve the technical access needed by regulators to enforce the AI Act”. The EU should work with like-minded partners to promote the European, human-centric and risk-based approach to artificial intelligence globally as an “international standard”, while underlining the “strategic role of digital partnerships and Trade and Technology Councils”.
MEPs also insist that EU digital trade agreements must comply with the “horizontal provisions on cross-border data flows and protection of personal data and privacy” and “include dedicated provisions on regulatory cooperation on AI”.
In order to strengthen customs controls, MEPs call on the Commission to “deploy secure and dedicated AI tools to systematically analyse data from small parcels or secure product traceability throughout the supply chain in order to combat counterfeit goods, customs fraud, unfair trade practices and circumvention of EU-imposed sanctions”. Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/lze (Original version in French by Ana Pisonero Hernández)