EU and US officials want to use the forum to strengthen economic ties, coordinate digital policy and resolve transatlantic disputes | EuroNews - 28 Sept 2021 |

The novel council, the first of its kind in EU-US relations, is seen as an important victory for Brussels, which proposed its creation soon after the 2020 American elections. The idea was part of a wider push to reset ties with Washington and turn the page on four fractious and unpredictable years dealing with the administration of President Donald Trump, a man who publicly denounced the EU as a "foe" and repeatedly acted in defiance of the rules-based multilateral system.

President Biden green-lighted the proposal after an in-person meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council Charles Michel in mid-June.

Although no major announcements are foreseen to come out from Pittsburgh, both sides will seize the moment to clearly lay out their policy priorities and design the overall direction for the next rounds of talks. The council is expected to meet periodically at political level.
Chips, AI and data transfers

The Trade and Technology Council is structured into 10 thematic working groups: technology standards (including artificial intelligence and emerging technologies), green tech, supply chains, data governance, ICT security, technology misuse, export controls, investment screening, SMEs support and global trade challenges.

EU officials have already said the TTC is not meant to produce a trade deal or any sort of joint legally binding regulation. Instead, the working groups will be centred on expanding existing ties, facilitating cooperation and promoting mutual research, investment and innovation. The two sides might also agree on a minimum of rules and guidelines to synchronise their regulatory frameworks.

Among the most pressing issues on the agenda will be semiconductors, the microchips that power millions of ordinary electronic devices, such as smartphones, computers and washing machines.

The world is facing an acute shortage of semiconductors due to supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a sudden economic recovery and ongoing trade tensions. The crisis, which shows no signs of abetting, has hit European and American companies and caused production delays.

The scarcity of chips has also shed light on the highly unbalanced distribution of the market, which is dominated by Taiwan in an almost-monopolistic fashion, followed by South Korea and China.

Both the United States and the European Union acknowledge that existing interdependencies between them make collaboration imperative. Reflecting that awareness, EU-based semiconductor firms are eligible for U.S. CHIPS Act funding and U.S.-based firms can receive EU Chips Act support.

Both parties are in accord that Japan must be involved in Chips Act-related initiatives, reflecting its "like-minded" democracy status and its dominance in many key semiconductor equipment and materials sectors.

Both the EU and the US resent their small market share (over 10% each) and are developing policy proposals to boost domestic production and mitigate their over-reliance on South Asia. The European Commission is working on a European Chips Act while the US Congress is debating a CHIPS For America Act, efforts that the council could amplify through common ventures. The end goal of the partnership will be to rebalance the global supply of microchips and prevent future shortages.

A World of Chips Acts: The Future of U.S.-EU Semiconductor Collaboration | CSIS |

Nationalism De-globalisation Joe Biden's CHIPS For America Act - a great MAGA surge

What's in the new Building Chips in America Act and what does it mean for the semiconductor industry? | WEF - 1 day ago |

• The Building Chips in America Act has removed the need for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews for semiconductor manufacturing projects that are receiving government subsidies.


• It is intended to speed up approvals, but critics say it removes an important environmental safeguard.


• The World Economic Forum initiative Future-Proofing Global Value Chains: Country Preparedness and Beyond is helping manufacturing companies respond to disruptions caused by emerging technologies, climate change and geopolitical tensions.

"On Wednesday 2 October 2024, the president signed into law the 'Building Chips in America Act of 2023,' which exempts certain projects relating to the production of semiconductors from environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969."

So reads a tiny update on the Briefing Room section of the White House website that could have - and is, indeed, intended to have - significant implications.

Chips - also known as semiconductors - are at the centre of most technologies driving the future economy, from AI, computers and electric vehicles to solar panels, healthcare devices and military weapons.

Biden exempts Intel, other microchip factories from environmental reviews

President Joe Biden signed legislation that will exempt some U.S. semiconductor manufacturing facilities from federal environmental reviews that are receiving government subsidies.

Without the new law, projects from the $52.7 billion CHIPS Act of 2022 could have been forced to undergo additional federal environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to win federal permits.

Biden tours Intel computer chip plant ahead of announcing $8.5 billion investment in chip maker

The Biden administration previously announced Intel would be eligible for $8.5 billion in federal subsidies and up to $11 billion in low cost loans to help the company finance its $100 billion building spree across the country. This includes the now $28 billion project in western Licking County.

Proponents say those projects had already complied with federal, state and local environmental regulations and permitting requirements and that without the change they could have potentially faced years of additional delays.

Environmental groups like the Sierra Club say the reviews are essential to "keep communities and workers safe from the hazardous contaminants used in the semiconductor industry."

The U.S. Commerce Department has allocated more than $35 billion for 26 projects including $6.4 billion in grants under the 2022 law to South Korea's Samsung, to expand chip production in Texas, $8.5 billion for Intel, $6.6 billion for Taiwan's TSMC to build out its American production and $6.1 billion for Micron Technology to fund U.S. factories.

The White House said it will "continue to uphold our commitment to ensuring that semiconductor projects are built and operated in a way that meets clean water, clean air, endangered species, and other federal requirements and minimizes risks and impacts to workers, public health, and the environment."

Rhetoric replaces laws on the environment, international law and war powers. All characteristics of authoritarianism and a pariah state on the global scene.

The world has changed dramatically for the worse under the Biden-Blinken team after the Afghan retreat compensating with two wars for survival of the Empire. Under the President Biden Doctrine, Europe is a colony of America and the Middle East will be revised to allow the fascist state of Israel to survive. Genocide is not an hindrance for full support, militarily and politically.