EU-US trade summit in Pittsburgh will continue anyway

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The scheduled trade summit between European member states and the United States which is scheduled for next week in Pittsburgh, America, will continue. The European Commission was reportedly divided over participation in the consultations after France suggested postponing the summit. European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager wrote on Twitter Thursday evening that the summit will take place.

European sources reported Thursday that doubts about the summit followed US President Joe Biden’s decision to enter into a defense pact with Australia and the UK without consulting the EU. The Netherlands was among the countries that wanted the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) established in June to continue.

France, in particular, was set on fire by the conclusion of the AUSUK defense pact, which caused the EU country to miss a multibillion-dollar contract for submarines. The dispute between France and the United States has since subsided, after a conversation between Biden and President Emmanuel Macron. But other events, such as the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, have also shocked the EU at the lonely behavior of the United States.

There are ten working groups within the TTC in which negotiations are conducted on technological cooperation, the modernization of standards, the screening of foreign investments and the control of exports. According to insiders, the two economic superpowers have already been able to strike several deals and an agreement on artificial intelligence standards in recent weeks. This would then be announced in Pittsburgh.