US-EU TTC Must Remain Bilateral, Expert Says

While the U.S. should pursue a new multilateral export control framework for advanced technologies (see 2206290032), it also shouldn’t lose sight of its trade dialogue with the EU, said Frances Burwell, an Atlantic Council expert, speaking during an Oct. 18 event hosted by the Center for a New American Security. She said both the U.S. and the EU should make sure their Trade and Technology Council “remains a bilateral organization” so they can achieve “concrete” agreements for a range of technology issues.

The TTC “is an excellent place for the U.S. and the EU, as the two biggest markets in the, shall we say, the democratic world … to figure out what works for them,” Burwell said. “I think that the TTC is a place where one can develop, between the United States and Europe, some ideas, and then begin to take them elsewhere.” She specifically mentioned Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, which have all imposed sanctions against Russia and could be willing to explore new semiconductor export controls against China.

Meg Hardon, vice president of government relations for Infineon Technologies Americas Corp., agreed. “We have to focus on the US-EU TTC. It's a great vehicle,” Hardon said. But she also said some of the discussions occurring within the TTC must also eventually include other semiconductor-producing nations. “We have to be having global discussions about all of these topics,” Hardon said. “It's not good enough just to talk about trans-Atlantic, except at the diplomatic level.”

She pointed to several semiconductor-related challenges that the U.S. and other countries need to address, including ways to secure the global supply chain without disrupting trade. “You cannot, in the short term, pick up and replace and move around huge capital investments and just completely alter the supply chain. Nor would it be advisable or affordable, let's say, to replicate complete semiconductor manufacturing ecosystems in every region of the world,” Hardon said. “There are no easy answers to that. but there has to be a recognition that we are an industry seeking to operate in an environment that allows chips to continue to be provided.”

Speaking earlier in the event, Gerard de Graaf, the EU’s senior envoy for digital, said the TTC is making good progress. “We're trying to set priorities,” he said. “We're trying to achieve concrete and tangible results.” He said the two sides have already achieved a “fully harmonized” system for sharing information on Russia-related export controls and have reached “very strong cooperation in terms of export controls toward China.”