EU-US Trade and Technology Council meeting concludes in Leuven

The bilateral trade and technology council between the EU and the US is set to conclude today.

The meeting agenda included discussions on 6G communication and semiconductor supply chain resilience. The EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) was launched by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Joe Biden in 2021 as a forum for both parties to address trade and technology policy issues in the absence of a formal trade treaty. Such arrangement has allowed both parties to flexibly coordinate their domestic legislations such as the EU’s European Chips Act and the US’s CHIPS and Science Act.

In the future, expect continued cooperation between the US and the EU on semiconductors, telecommunication, and AI. Both parties will continue to coordinate their semiconductor subsidy and trade control programs, especially in response to national security concerns and China’s chip surplus. However, whether the TTC will continue to serve as the only platform for such matters remains unclear as both parties hold elections later this year. Additionally, critics have voiced concerns about TTC’s lack of focus and concrete legal output. Even if the TTC is scrapped in the medium term following elections in US, expect continued coordination on trade and regulations for emerging technologies.