EU-US cooperation in tech council likely to be limited

Significance

In their joint statement the two partners stressed their common interest in: ensuring that new technologies reflect and reinforce their democratic values; resisting unfair trading practices of ‘non-market economies’; and working with like-minded countries on technology issues in multilateral forums. However, the statement added that the TTC would not affect either side’s regulatory autonomy.

Impacts

• Bilateral trade tensions could escalate if both sides use industrial policy to boost their domestic tech sectors.
• To safeguard supply chains, both sides may impose procurement restrictions to favour local tech suppliers or exclude non-domestic firms.
• EU leaders could support EU-based cloud providers, especially for storing public data, thereby challenging US corporate dominance.