Stakeholder feedback – Xylem Inc. 

1. The TIST programme provides that the EU and the U.S. should advance cooperation on conformity assessment with the aim to reduce red tape and contribute to promote the green transition. Which goods do you think this cooperation should cover as a priority and why?

The TIST programme should emphasize ensuring trans-Atlantic access to energy efficient and emissions reduction technologies. 

2. The TIST work programme also provides more generally that the EU and the U.S. should launch work on the identification of sectors and potential cooperation to grow mutual trade and support the green transition and promote circular economy objectives. What sectors do you consider a priority and what trade facilitating actions should the EU and the US focus on?What specific sectors would you highlight as priority for EU-US regulatory cooperation? 

The water sector warrants a dedicated EU-US regulatory cooperation priority. Xylem Inc. welcomes the Transatlantic Initiative on Sustainable Trade (TIST) as an important step towards green transition cooperation amongst trade friendly nations. 

The adoption and deployment of the best available technologies in the water sector remains a key contributor to the green transition and promotion of circular economy objectives. The water sector and water technologies are underlying the green transition through enabling energy generation through the Water-Energy Nexus and manufacturing along with helping mitigate global GHG emissions and ensuring water secure societies and circular economy though water reuse. Water utilities account for approximately 2% of GHG emissions — the equivalent of the world’s shipping industry[1]. With state-of-the-art water and digital technology these GHG emissions can be mitigated. In addition, water system optimizations, mean energy and GHG savings across sectors e.g. buildings, agriculture, etc. The water sector needs greater alignment between the US and EU on green transition to reduce GHG emissions across sectors which will have major benefits for both nations and local communities. 

As part of the TIST, we would recommend analyzing any existing barriers to green transition and circular economy in the water sector and best available water technologies such as to monitor, treat, transport, reuse water, etc. Domestic content requirements included in the Build America, Buy America Act are not supportive of achieving these very TIST objectives and risk limiting access to the best available solutions. 

Globally, we are facing unprecedented water-related challenges due to climate change which impact drinking water and wastewater infrastructures. Water challenges go beyond the national dimension and need to be tackle collectively and globally through collaboration in order to provide safe, reliable drinking water and ensuring wastewater is adequately treated before being returned to the environment. Furthermore, supply chains in the water sector are global and TIST can facilitate efficient supply chains in the sector too. 

Last but not least, for US-EU regulatory cooperation, we would like to highlight the ongoing PFAS discussions and upcoming regulations in the EU and US and to assess their impact on the water sector, best available technologies development in view of the essentiality of the sector. 

Xylem is a leading global water technology company committed to solving critical water and infrastructure challenges with innovation. Our 22,000 diverse employees delivering revenue of $7.5 billion, we are creating a more sustainable world by enabling our customers to optimize water and resource management, and helping communities in more than 150 countries become water-secure.

3. Which digital tools, such as electronic invoices, electronic document formats or product passports, that enhance bilateral trade and underpin EU and U.S. supply chains are central to the green transition and could merit cooperation between the EU and the U.S.? 

Digital solutions in the water sector have demonstrated the potential to transform water systems and address escalating challenges of accessibility, affordability, and resilience. 

4. On important building block of the TIST work program regards the promotion of resilient and sustainable supply chains that underpin the green transition. The assessment of the risks of disruptions is an important part of the envisaged cooperation. A first focus will be the solar industry. Which other supply chains should be covered? Why? What priority actions should be considered to avoid potential disruptions and excessive dependencies in supply chains that are strategic for the green transition? 

We would like to highlight electronic components a high-risk industry especially in China and should be included in the discussions in addition to magnets and materials used in battery manufacturing.

5. The EU and U.S. also aim to promote resiliency and sustainability in value chains, enhancing the transparency of business’ operations and the traceability of products. Taking into account the global due diligence standards*, how can the EU and the U.S. further promote transparency and traceability across supply chains? What actions or tools should in your view be considered?

There are many tools on the marketplace that claim to provide transparency and simplification of data, an independent evaluation of these would be very helpful to help navigate the complex and ever-growing market. 

[1]https://www.xylem.com/siteassets/campaigns/xylem-cop-whitepaper_v08.pdf

The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) is a coalition of more than 75 leading European and U.S.- based organisations representing the consumer interest. On a daily basis TACD members defend the right of consumers to make more sustainable choices, when it comes to food, textiles, electronic devices or financial services. TACD welcomes the first step of the TIST, especially the idea to cooperate on regulatory approaches for greener goods and technologies. TACD insists that any discussions of regulatory approaches and development of new standards center the consumer perspective and must aim to enhance the levels of consumer protection, not reduce them to the lowest common denominator. 

Our full recommendations were submitted via email on 13 September 2023, and can also be found online here.