Since its launch in 2021, the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) has become the main platform for US–EU cooperation at the intersection of economics, technology and security. Despite some achievements so far, the TTC has reached an inflection point, needing to turn ambitions into tangible outcomes.
The council’s focus on the process of cooperation gives it a better chance of success compared to previous initiatives to formalize transatlantic cooperation through negotiated deals, including the failed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). But emerging disagreements – not least over the US’s Inflation Reduction Act – threaten to derail progress.
This paper assesses the TTC’s work so far and offers insights into how the TTC is likely to develop both in the short and long term. It discusses the issues and tasks at the top of its agenda and explores how the TTC fits alongside other trade- and-tech-focused governance structures. The paper then recommends actions to strengthen the TTC and to link it with adjacent forums such as the G7.
