On the occasion of the sixth EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council ministerial meeting in Leuven, Belgium, the EU and U.S. principals, joined Arancha González, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain and Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs, in a fireside conversation. 

The one-hour discussion was an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the TTC thus far, and the road ahead for EU-U.S. cooperation on trade and technology.  

The event was be opened by the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hadja Lahbib. The TTC principals, Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, and Commissioner Thierry Breton, representing the EU side; and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez, representing the U.S. side; then exchanged views on the key deliverables of the TTC collaboration and their vision for future of transatlantic dialogue.    

The principals highlighted that a major achievement of the TTC has been its positive contribution to the rejuvenation of the transatlantic relationship. The TTC has become a catalyst for EU-U.S. cooperation on trade and technology issues. In particular, the principals referred to previous achievements on aligning approaches to Artificial Intelligence (AI), export controls, semiconductors as well as the efforts to deepen the transatlantic green marketplace. They also mentioned new commitments, such as the Mineral Security Partnership Forum, and the fruitful cooperation on online platforms with the release of a set of joint principles on combatting gender-based violence and joint recommended actions for online platforms on protecting human rights defenders online. In the view of the principals, the TTC has been a learning process through which the EU and U.S. have had the opportunity to leverage their individual strengths to develop joint cooperation and solutions.  

The principals emphasized throughout their remarks that the TTC is not just about bilateral trade and technology policies—but also about shared values and mobilizing joint assets to develop common solutions both within the transatlantic relationship and globally.  

Looking ahead, the principals outlined continued collaboration on AI through the U.S. AI Safety Institute and the EU’s AI office; securing supply chains; building partnerships with third countries and in multilateral fora; and strengthening the transatlantic green marketplace by making trade across the Atlantic more sustainable as well as easier through conformity assessments initiatives in green tech sectors.  

The fireside chat concluded with the principals emphasizing the importance of continued stakeholder engagement, and the role the stakeholder community can play in nurturing future collaboration and managing divergences.  

Learn More 

To read more about the outcomes of the Sixth TTC Ministerial Meeting, read the Joint Statement here.  

To learn more about the TTC, watch the “TTC Explained” here.