Instead of a Free Trade Zone: on the Work of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council

This article analyses the activities of the U.S.-European Trade and Technology Council (TTC), established in 2021. It identifies the prerequisites for its creation, driven by the desire of both parties to resolve a series of contradictions that have accumulated in transatlantic relations, as well as the ongoing strategic competition between the U.S. and the EU against China. The authors provide an analysis of the organisational structure, key areas of focus, and some outcomes of the council's work. They note that despite the active involvement of working groups within the TTC, its proposed solutions have limits in scope due to the specific nature of U.S.-European contradictions. These include conditions for the exchange of digital information between the U.S. and the EU, its secure storage, the creation of a common information space, and trade and investment regimes in the context of confrontation with Russia and China. An equally pressing issue relates to industrial policies in the U.S. and the EU, characterized by support for national production in high-tech sectors, which creates risks of a new “subsidy war”. In conclusion, the authors assess the prospects for the council's development and its potential influence on the future of transatlantic relations in trade and technological cooperation amid escalating global transformations, confrontation with the Russian Federation, and competition with China.

protectionism, industrial policy, transatlantic relations, US trade policy, EU trade policy