EU seeks new post-Trump global alliance with US: FT | China News



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The EU’s draft plan calls for US cooperation on technology, COVID-19, deforestation and challenges posed by China, the report said.

The European Union wants to forge a new alliance with the United States to bury the tensions of the Trump era and address the challenges posed by China, the Financial Times (FT) newspaper reported, citing a draft plan.

The plan proposes to rebuild ties, with common fronts on issues ranging from digital regulation to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, the FT said.

Relations between the United States and Europe have been strained under President Donald Trump. The EU and most of the bloc states congratulated President-elect Joe Biden after the November 3 election.

“As open democratic societies and market economies, the EU and the US agree on the strategic challenge posed by China’s growing international assertiveness, although we do not always agree on the best way to solve this problem, ”the FT said citing the draft plan. .

The plan, which will be submitted for approval to national leaders at a meeting on December 10-11, proposed the launch of a new transatlantic agenda at an EU-US summit in the first half of 2021, added the newspaper.

Earlier in November, the EU imposed tariffs on up to $ 4 billion in U.S. imports in retaliation for U.S. subsidies to Boeing, but said it hoped for an improvement in trade relations under Biden.

EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said earlier that the European Commission, which coordinates the trade policy of the 27 EU member states, had made informal contacts with Biden’s team.

‘Maintenance and renewal’

The draft document, prepared by the Commission, indicates that the EU-US partnership must be “maintained and renewed” if the democratic world is to assert its interests against “authoritarian powers” and “closed economies” [that] exploit the openness on which our own societies depend, ”according to the FT.

EU wants to join forces with the US in its response to China and on related issues such as emerging technologies, according to draft plan [File: Francois Lenoir/Reuters]

Under Trump, the US was reluctant to coordinate its response to China with the EU, frustrating many in Brussels, and even imposed its own trade measures against the EU.

The document reads: “As open democratic societies and market economies, the EU and the United States agree on the strategic challenge presented by China’s growing international assertiveness, although we are not always aware of this. ‘agree on the best way to solve this problem. “

He proposes that the EU and the US join forces to shape the digital regulatory environment, including adopting common approaches to antitrust law enforcement and data protection, cooperating to screen sensitive foreign investment and working together to tackle cybersecurity threats.

Other parts of the document call for cooperation on the development and dissemination of COVID-19 vaccines and for joint work to reform the World Health Organization.



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