EU-US Summit: we must urgently address outstanding issues

Ahead of today’s EU-US Summit, a BusinessEurope delegation, led by our President Fredrik Persson and Director General Markus J. Beyrer, went on a mission to the USA. The aim was to underline the importance of the transatlantic relationship in a moment of so many geopolitical challenges, such as the war in Ukraine, the Middle East crisis and tensions in other regions including the Asia-Pacific. 

The health of the $7.1 trillion EU-US economic relationship is critical to millions of jobs and prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. Successful cooperation between the USA and the EU is therefore vital to enhance competitiveness and increase economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic. “Reaffirming our commitment to the rules-based trading system will deepen our shared prosperity. But we need to urgently address some outstanding issues. We must find a permanent solution on steel/aluminium and we must conclude an agreement on critical minerals", said President Persson.

Our delegation shared this message with a number of high-level officials they met in the USA, like Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Commerce Under Secretary for Trade Marisa Lago, Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal, and Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment Jose W. Fernandez, as well as businesses. 

We also published a joint statement with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in which we call on leaders on both sides to reaffirm the importance of robust transatlantic commercial ties. Our key priorities are: reject protectionism and avoid discrimination; resolve outstanding disputes; commit to averting the emergence of new disputes; guard against regulatory overreach; avoid divergent regulatory approaches, especially with respect to emerging and innovative products, processes, and technologies.