Heating up as we head into summer
It’s been a busy and exciting period for transatlantic trade and investment and we are thrilled with the many positive outcomes from last week’s U.S.-EU summit.
From securing an agreement that effectively ends the long-running Boeing-Airbus aircraft production dispute and the formation of a working group to address U.S. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and discuss the steel overcapacity issue with the goal of eliminating the duties by end of the year, to the launch of a bilateral Trade & Technology Council (TTC) for the purpose of establishing new global trade standards for emerging technology; promoting democratic values online; finding ways for the U.S. and the EU to collaborate on cutting edge research and development; and solving the global semiconductor shortage. This platform could also be used, when necessary, to push back against European digital policies that might discriminate against American companies.
While there was no announcement of a successor to the invalidated Privacy Shield, the summit statement did indicate a strong commitment to “work together to ensure safe, secure, and trusted cross-border data flows that protect consumers and enhance privacy protections, while enabling Transatlantic commerce” and commented that both sides “plan to continue to work together to strengthen legal certainty in Transatlantic flows of personal data.”
Ultimately, these developments show that both sides recognize and are committed to the transatlantic relationship. Moreover, the dialogues announced will help forge closer cooperation between the U.S. and EU in COVID relief, climate change, technological cooperation, and counteracting the unfair trade practices of non-market economies and to and bolster fair competition
Closer to home we have been fielding more and more calls from U.S.-based and Sweden-based members seeking guidance in addressing critical business travel to and from Sweden and the U.S. Over the course of the past year we have been sharing member concerns about these delays with our interlocutors with both the Swedish and U.S. governments.
As we head into the summer and a final push to beat back the pandemic, I wanted to let you know about what lies ahead as we look forward to the possibility of being to meet in person soon.
We are excited to share that we are launching a new virtual platform for AmCham Sweden members in August. This new research-backed platform, which is used by leading companies and academic institutions, will give AmCham members fast and easy access to each other and the collective intelligence, knowledge and experience of our network while creating a repository of shared knowledge. More details coming soon!
This fall, the AmCham Communications Working Committee will present a series of programs on the recently completed 2021 Brand America Barometer. We last conducted this survey in 2019 for the purpose of discovering what people in Sweden associate with the American brand.
Finally, the AmCham Sweden Mentoring Program now includes a leadership skills workshops option for companies with internal mentoring programs. You can learn more here.
Keep an eye on the AmCham calendar, and as we look to the end of the pandemic, consider co-working with us at United Spaces when it is time to go back to the office.
Thank you for your support.
Stay well,
Peter