USTR Tai: US Will Host Meeting Of US-European Trade Council This Year

US Trade Rep Katherine Tai has told reporters that the US will host a third ministerial meeting of the US-European Trade and Technology Council before the end of the year.

• The platform was launched in 2021, agreeing on five key areas of cooperation: Export controls, Foreign direct investment screening, Secure supply chains (especially regarding semiconductors), Technology standards, including cooperation on Artificial Intelligence, Global trade challenges.
• Tai met with her European Union counterpart, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, last month at the G7 trade ministerial to discuss US electric vehicle tax credits legislated by the Inflation Reduction Act.
• According to Bloomberg, the provisions have made the European Union, South Korea, and Japan furious "because they say the law’s sourcing requirements disadvantages their car and battery manufacturers, which remain dependent on Chinese inputs."
• Tai says she believes that concerns surrounding EV provisions can be resolved and the next meeting will focus on managing inflation and addressing what she, and Dombrovskis, call "economic coercion" of smaller countries by China.
• Dombrovskis says the US and the EU "share many concerns about China's non-market practices related to industrial subsidies and other issues."