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WASHINGTON — The United States and the European Union took a step towards a closer alliance this week by announcing a new partnership for trade and technology, but tensions over various strategic and economic issues still simmer in the background.
The establishment of the Trade and Technology Council, which aims to build a united front on trade practices and sophisticated technologies, is an important test of whether President Biden can deliver on his promise to reduce escalating transatlantic tensions under President Donald J. Trump. The Biden administration has long described Europe as a natural partner in a broader economic and political conflict with China, and has criticized the Trump administration for choosing the US trade wars against China. alienated European governments.
But while officials on both sides said that transatlantic relations had improved, the US-Europe reset turned out to be tougher than expected.
The inaugural meeting of the Trade and Technology Council in Pittsburgh this week nearly collapsed after the Biden administration said it would share advanced submarine technology with Australia. The deal that angered the French government.
Europeans say they are disappointed by the lack of consultation with the Biden administration on a number of issues, including the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. And officials will face tough negotiation in the coming weeks. Metal tariffs imposed by Mr Trump Global in 2018
Europeans have said they will impose retaliatory tariffs on other US products from 1 December unless Mr. Biden imposes a 25 percent tariff on European steel and a 10 percent duty on aluminum.
“The EU initially saw the Biden administration as a ‘fresh air,’ but now wonders how Biden will differ from Trump,” said Stephen Olson, a senior research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation and a former US trade negotiator. wrote in a final analysis. “Expectations for the US-EU ‘united front’ have been overinflated from the start.”
European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said at a roundtable with journalists in Washington on Tuesday that the two sides are working hard on the issue. He said they aim to reach an agreement by early November to have enough time to avoid European tariffs.
Mr Dombrovskis added that the Biden administration’s handling of the Australian submarine deal has disappointed the European Union, but added that “occasional differences of opinion” should not spoil their strategic alliance.
“Of course, as allies and friends, we don’t always agree on everything, and we’ve seen that in recent weeks,” Mr. Dombrovskis said, adding that the Biden administration has had more involvement than the Trump administration.
At this week’s meetings, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken; Gina Raimondo, trade secretary; Katherine Tai, US trade representative; and their European counterparts have pledged to collaborate on a variety of 21st-century issues, such as controlling exports of high-tech, screening investments for national security threats, and offering incentives for chip manufacturing in Europe and the United States. semiconductor shortage continues.
Although official documents do not explicitly mention China, the partnership is clearly aimed in part at countering the country’s authoritarian practices. The Council pledged, among other objectives, to combat arbitrary and illegal technological surveillance and trade-distorting practices of non-market economies.
U.S. and European officials announced a meeting in June. Agreement to end a 17-year dispute over aircraft subsidies Given to Airbus and Boeing.
But an ongoing fight over Mr Trump’s tariffs on metals imported from Europe and elsewhere may be more difficult to resolve. Mr. Biden is under intense pressure from local steelmakers and labor unions that support his campaign to maintain barriers to imports.
In a virtual roundtable on Thursday, industry executives and labor leaders said cheap steel produced in Europe could still hurt U.S. industry.
Lourenco Goncalves, CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., an American iron ore mining company, is best known for subsidizing the steel industry in China, while European producers are also major recipients of government subsidies, which unfairly to their US rivals. Said it was an advantage. company.
He urged the Biden administration to negotiate “from a position of strength”.
“We need the White House, and we especially need those on the front lines not to be affected by the sweet talk of Europeans,” Goncalves said. “I believe friends are much worse than enemies.”
U.S. officials made a proposal to their European counterparts this summer to convert the current 25 percent tariff on European steel into a so-called tariff rate quota. with discussions speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential matters.
He said Europeans are arguing for a more flexible arrangement, and discussions are expected to intensify over the next three weeks.
Thomas Kaplan contributing reporting.
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