US, EU Agree to More Export Control, Investment Screening Cooperation
The U.S. and the European Union agreed to develop “convergent” export controls on sensitive technologies and work more closely on investment screening, the White House said in a fact sheet released after the Sept. 29 inaugural meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (see 2109270027). Although the White House didn’t name specific technologies that could come under more export control or investment scrutiny, it stressed the importance of semiconductor supply chain cooperation and said the two sides agreed to “achieve concrete outcomes by the next meeting.”
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The U.S. and the EU notably agreed upon “shared principles and areas” for export control cooperation and plan to consult each other before issuing future export regulations, including "regular adjustments to control lists and specific license exceptions," in order to harmonize their restrictions on sensitive dual-use technologies, the White House said. In a joint statement, the two sides said multilateral controls are more effective than unilateral ones and plan to use controls to address risks posed by emerging technologies. The two sides specifically stressed the importance of controls over weapons of mass destruction and cyber-surveillance technologies that could be used for human rights violations. They also plan to share information on exports of sensitive technologies to "areas of concern."
Before the next meeting, the council's export control working group will share information on licensing best practices, compliance and enforcement approaches, and "perform joint industry outreach on dual-use export controls." That outreach event will be held Oct. 27 and is expected to "begin the process of soliciting input from stakeholders" on U.S.-EU export control cooperation.
The U.S. and the EU also will exchange information on “investment trends affecting security,” including the origin of certain investments and best practices on analyzing and addressing risk. That investment screening cooperation will “focus” on “sensitive” technologies and data, the White House said. In the statement, the two sides said investment screening regimes should be "accompanied by the appropriate enforcement mechanisms" and that they plan to "engage with partner countries and stakeholders on investment screening." The U.S. and the EU said the investment screening working group will conduct a "joint virtual outreach event" before the council's next meeting and "develop a holistic view of the policy tools addressing risks related to specific sensitive technologies."
The two sides also plan to work together to identify “vulnerabilities” in semiconductor supply chains and address “trade distortive” practices. While the White House didn’t name China, it said both the U.S. and the EU hope to “mitigate the impact of non-market practices at home and in third countries,” combat forced labor and remove unnecessary trade barriers. The two sides also said they share concerns about the technology acquisition strategies, "coercive" measures and civil-military fusion policies of "certain actors."