In an effort to counter China's rising technological power, the United States and European Union are forming a joint group called the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council.
The council will look at a wide array of tech and trade related issues, including developing standards related to AI and the internet of things, climate and green tech, the regulation of Transatlantic data flows and the misuse of technology, among other things.
"I think we're in the midst of terrible beauty having been born — a great shift in technology, a great shift in the development of the world, and it's causing great anxiety in each our countries and uncertainty among many of our colleagues of what's going to be their place in the world," President Biden said during an address in Brussels on Tuesday. "Are they going to be replaced by a new technology? Are they going to no longer have a job? And what are they going to do?"
The new council will also include a working group focused on the "rebalancing of global supply chains in semiconductors," according to a White House statement.
The announcement comes as Europe has taken an increasingly tough stance on American tech companies, particularly in relation to how companies like Facebook handle European data. It also follows the Senate approval of some $250 billion in funding for science and technology research and investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry through the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act. That bill, which still needs to pass the House in some form, was also framed as a counterweight to China's technological might.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE