ITI Welcomes Call for Strong Transatlantic Ties on Technology in Support of EU-US Agenda for Global Change
BRUSSELS – Today, global trade association ITI welcomed the publication of the European Commission’s Communication “A new EU-US agenda for global change,” underscoring the importance of strong cooperation between the two sides.
“The EU-U.S. commercial relationship is the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world, and digital and ICT products and services are a key component of that relationship,” said Guido Lobrano, Vice President of Policy and Director-General for Europe at ITI. “The two economies’ shared commitment to common transatlantic values, together with the robust history of bilateral and multilateral cooperation, form a solid base to foster closer cooperation. Enhanced cooperation on trade and technology is especially critical to increase economic stability in the wake of COVID-19 recovery and enhance service offerings to citizens in Europe and the U.S.”
ITI highlighted its support for issues featured in today’s Communication, including:
- Establishing an EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council (TTC) as a forum to enhance cooperation, facilitate regulatory compatibility and prevent the emergence of market access barriers. The bilateral mechanism is a welcome forum for promoting transparent, compatible approaches to digital policy at the global level and discussing open, trade-facilitative approaches to data governance and the regulation of new technology. In this context, ITI emphasized the role of global, industry-driven, voluntary consensus standards in enabling innovation, the achievement of regulatory outcomes, and trade. ITI further encouraged both sides to approach discussion of standardization policy with a view to fostering reliance on international standards.
- Transatlantic cooperation on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and enhanced cooperation to foster global approaches on supply chain security and cybersecurity and promote shared values.
- Maintaining EU and U.S. commitments to reaching agreement in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s project to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the global economy. Global tax policy challenges must be resolved through a multilateral, consensus-based solution that results in the withdrawal of unilateral measures.
- Ongoing dialogue between the EU and the US on online services, recognising industry’s shared responsibility to maintain a safe, inclusive, and innovative online environment.
- Intensifying cooperation and promoting regulatory convergence to facilitate the free flow of data, given the importance of data flows to the digital economy. ITI has called on both the EU and the U.S. to advance negotiations on a successor agreement to the Privacy Shield to avoid disruptions and enable seamless transatlantic data flows consistent with fundamental rights protections.