EU Official Finds Bipartisan US Support for Continuing Trade-Tech Council
Recent meetings with American lawmakers during a visit to the U.S. gave the impression there is strong bipartisan support for maintaining the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council, a European Parliament member said Nov. 13.
But lawmakers indicated they would like to have a greater role in the council, which coordinates trade and technology policy, said Brando Benifei of Italy, who chairs the parliament’s delegation for relations with the U.S. “Congress didn’t feel enough ownership of this work on the TTC, and I think this is damaging considering the role that the Congress can play in obstructing or supporting or accelerating” trade and technology decisions, he said.
Benifei, who spoke at a Politico event in Brussels, said the TTC also could benefit from a greater focus on achieving tangible results. The TTC, which held its sixth meeting in April (see 2404050030), has faced criticism for being a “talking shop.”
Other speakers warned that the EU-U.S. relationship could get bumpy in the second Trump administration. Ignacio García Bercero, non-resident fellow at Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, said it’s unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump will follow through on his threat to increase tariffs or is simply seeking to gain leverage in negotiations with U.S. trading partners. In case Trump is serious about raising tariffs, the EU should be prepared to respond, García Bercero said.
“We need to be ready for the worst,” he said. “We need to be ready for things happening perhaps relatively more quickly than one would desire.”
Sigrid de Vries, director general of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), said the U.S. election results “foretell a more unpredictable and tense trade and investment relationship over the coming years.” ACEA will continue to “support proactive and constructive dialogue between EU and U.S. policymakers and stakeholders while knowing that we might well be in for a few challenging years,” she said.