Chamber of Commerce Releases Europe & U.K. Policy Recommendations for New U.S. Administration

In late January, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released its policy recommendations for the Biden Administration for Europe and the United Kingdom. The Chamber acknowledged that 2021 will be a pivotal year for these transatlantic relationships and outlined several key priorities for the Administration. These priorities include responding to the COVID-19 pandemic; strengthening and maintaining the transatlantic digital economy; and addressing climate change.

One of the primary concerns identified in the Chamber’s recommendations is economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The new Administration should join the European Union in a multilateral effort to fight the pandemic by lifting tariffs, non-tariff barriers, and export restrictions on pandemic-related medicines and medical supplies. In addition, the U.S. and Europe should work to establish a common metric for tracking the spread of the virus and ensure ongoing dialogue and transparency regarding testing, quarantine, and vaccination policies. Cooperation in geographic diversification of supply, stockpiling of critical goods, and trade incentives will also strengthen the supply chain.

The U.S., EU, and UK should work to ensure that the transatlantic digital economy stays connected and secure. Any disruption of data flow will impede economic recovery and hamper our ability to fight the pandemic and collaborate on health research. For this reason, the Privacy Shield framework used to protect transatlantic transfers of personal data should be updated and a data sharing agreement—to govern law enforcement access to data—should be created. The U.S. and EU should also formally establish a Trade and Technology Council that meets regularly to promote growth and collaboration, including in areas such as 5G and artificial intelligence (AI).

Rejoining the Paris Agreement will provide an opportunity for the U.S. to make certain that all transatlantic climate goals are achievable, durable, and driven by innovation and private sector investment. As Europe transitions to more renewable and sustainable energy sources, the U.S. should ensure that its energy exports are part of the solution and oppose any EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism that unfairly targets U.S. exports. In addition, the U.S. should promote cooperation on “development and deployment policies related to low carbon energy technologies and associated infrastructure investments and encourage transatlantic R&D efforts including on priority issues such as energy storage, advanced nuclear, carbon capture and sequestration, and the circular economy.”

You can see the full list of policy recommendations from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce here.