The European Union and the United States held the fifth meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Washington, D.C. on 30 January 2024.  The meeting allowed ministers to take stock of the progress of the TTC's work and to provide political steer on key priorities for the next TTC Ministerial meeting, which will take place in Belgium in spring.

Participants showed a strong, shared desire to continue to increase bilateral trade and investment, co-operate on economic security and emerging technologies and to advance joint interests in the digital environment. In the margins of this TTC meeting, both sides agreed to continue to explore ways to facilitate trade in goods and technologies that are vital for the green transition, including by strengthening the cooperation on conformity assessment. The EU and the US have also committed to make tangible progress on digital trade tools to reduce the red tape for companies across the Atlantic and to strengthen our approaches to investment screening, export controls, outbound investment, and dual-use innovation.

Following their commitment at the last TTC Ministerial, the EU and the US welcomed the International Guiding Principles on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the voluntary Code of Conduct for AI developers adopted in the G7 and agreed to continue cooperating on international AI governance. Both parties also welcomed the industry roadmap on 6G which sets out guiding principles and next steps to develop this critical technology. They also took stock of progress in supporting secure connectivity around the globe, notably for 5G networks and undersea cables.

The EU and the US are also intensifying their coordination on the availability of critical raw materials crucial for semiconductor production, having activated the joint TTC early warning mechanism for semiconductor supply chain disruptions, following China's announced controls on gallium and germanium. They continued to exchange information on public support for the investments taking place under the respective EU and US Chips Acts. A roundtable on the semiconductor supply chain took place in the margins of the TTC, focusing on developments and potential cooperation in the legacy semiconductor supply chains. Finally, the EU and the US discussed a report mapping EU and US approaches to digital identity, currently open for comments.

In the margins of the meeting, a stakeholder meeting on Crafting the Transatlantic Green Marketplace took place, where stakeholders were able to present their views and proposals on how to make transatlantic supply chains stronger, more sustainable and more resilient. The EU and US further continue with stakeholder outreach going forward. Watch this space to learn more.