China never appears in the 17 pages of the “Pittsburgh Declaration”, written yesterday during the first meeting of the Trade and Technology Council. However, from the agreements reached it is clear that containing Beijing is the glue used by the US and the EU to put together the pieces of transatlantic relations. All based on the defense of the values common to democracies, for example when one aims at preventing “the use of artificial intelligence to violate human rights”, one is committed to “countering the distortions of global trade caused by non-market economies. », Strengthen the production of semiconductors, control investments and exports to prevent them from becoming instruments of geopolitical expansionism.
The TTC was created during Biden’s visit to Brussels in June to revive relations with Europe after Trump. But then came the tensions over the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the French submarines, to remind us that the transatlantic relationship remains complicated. The Americans were demanding more commitment against China; the Europeans wanted to broaden the horizon, also because they are less ready to give up their interests in Beijing.
The American delegation to Mill 19, a former arms factory, was led by Secretary of State Blinken, trade colleague Raimondo, and trade representative Tai. The European one by the executive vice-presidents of the Commission Dombrovskis and Vestager. Originally, the TTC had created ten study groups: cooperation on technological standards; climate and clean technology; supply chain security; security and competitiveness of communication and information technologies; data governance and technological platforms; abuse of technology to threaten security and human rights; cooperation on export and investment control; promote the access and use of digital technologies by small and medium-sized enterprises; the challenges to global trade. Raimondo had anticipated the real goal of the US, telling CNBC that «if we really want to slow down the pace of Chinese innovation, we must collaborate with Europe. They steal our intellectual property and don’t play by the rules. We do not want autocratic governments like Beijing to write the rules of the future: we must do it, with our allies who care about privacy, freedom, rights and individual protection ».
The Pittsburgh Declaration begins this process. The agreement was reached on five points: challenges to global trade, semiconductors, investment and export control, artificial intelligence. On the first, “US and EU will strengthen competitiveness and technological leadership by developing common strategies to mitigate the impact of non-market practices”. On the second, “they intend to enhance cooperation”, to ensure resilience from the supply chain, decrease dependence on Asia, prevent Beijing from becoming a leader in the sector. On the third and fourth, investments and exports will be controlled to avoid that the Silk Road is an instrument of geopolitical expansionism, or that the transfer of dual-use technologies gives strategic advantages to rivals. On the fifth, artificial intelligence systems are needed that “respect human rights and shared democratic values”, that is, the opposite of Chinese social credits or the exploitation of the algorithm to spread falsehoods. Work will continue on the other groups.
The US and the EU manage a quarter of world trade and almost half of the GDP. Faced with these figures, arguing would be an exercise in madness. Significant differences remain, for example on the Digital Markets Act and the taxation of digital giants, the tariffs imposed by Trump on steel and aluminum not discussed in Pittsburgh, the follow-up to the Boeing and Airbus dispute. However, the dialogue has resumed, and will continue in Europe in the spring.