The recent US-Australia deal on the supply of nuclear-powered warships is likely to push the US-EU trade summit in hot water. France, which has openly shown its annoyance over the deal, is already resisting joint EU-US declaration on technology cooperation, against the wishes of other EU countries.
According to the top US and European Union officials, the scheduled meeting aims to discuss semiconductor shortages, artificial intelligence, and tech competition issues at the Trade and Technology Council (TTC).
Top EU officials claim that France wanted to strike out a reference to the second meeting in spring 2022 when the French presidential election will take place. France has also sought to remove language on a proposed semiconductor supply chain partnership that said the EU and the United States were mutually dependent.
Meanwhile, France had stressed that the approach should be more cautious, with transatlantic trust also needing to be rebuilt. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai will host European Commission vice presidents Valdis Dombrovskis and Margrethe Vestager in a forum also designed to set tech standards.
The TTC meeting had been in doubt last week because of French anger over Australia’s scrapping of a $40 billion submarine contract and decision to opt instead for a deal with the United States and Britain to buy nuclear-powered vessels.
