The TRACK-STAR plenary was hosted by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States of America, in Washington, D.C. The plenary session schedule
was organised with presentations, discussions, and a concluding panel session to stimulate further dialogue among the working group members, policy makers and the Delegation of the European Union to the USA to discuss together the prospects for productive policy innovation on key issues of transatlantic scope and importance.
The primary purpose of the TRACK-STAR plenary event was to enable each WG to share their current policy ideas and receive feedback on them through this plenary and thereafter.
The second part of the event included a panel session to address three questions of interest to all Working Groups:
1. What is the state of the transatlantic relationship during the first half of the Biden Administration?
2. Can you preview what the EU and US hope to accomplish at the TTC ministerial meeting in December? What do you see as possibilities for stakeholder contributions in December?
3. Looking ahead to 2023 and 2024, what do you see as the key opportunities for transatlantic policy innovation regarding the economy, the environment, democracy, and transparency? In turn, what are the obstacles to innovation and how might they be overcome?
The seven TRACK-STAR Working Groups (WGs) have been working towards capturing the year 2 topics from all WGs’ participants in a consistent format.
A public report of the event can be found here.
Below is a summary of the transatlantic policy recommendations presented at the Plenary meeting.
Working Group 1: Energy
1.1 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next twelve months to define energy security priorities that enhance EU-US cooperation.
1.2 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next twelve months to define carbon standards and regulations that are impactful, promote equity, and create opportunity for EU-US cooperation.
1.3 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next twelve months to adopt energy standards that enable equitable trade between EU and US that consider imports, exports, and collaborations leading toward a net-zero world.
1.4 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next twelve months to implement tools that encourage and support EU-US cooperation in education and research that advance the energy transition.
Working Group 2: Climate Change
2.1 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next six months to develop common language regarding the concepts of Just Transition and Sustainability
2.2 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next twelve months to promote Sustainable Agriculture via principles of circular economy and the promotion of carbon farming.
2.3 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next six months to enhance the ambition of the Global Methane Pledge, building on the momentum of COP27.
2.4 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next twelve months to enhance access to and uptake of Renewable Energy Sources and Technologies.
Working Group 3: Circular Economy and Biodiversity
3.1 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next six months to redefine key energy and economy terms to reflect biodiversity and create common language for increased cooperation.
3.2 Over the next twelve months, US and EU agencies should adopt the Science Based Target Network’s (SBTN) approaches to craft measurable targets, strategies, and outcomes that identify and prioritize what is material to biodiversity impacts by both the agencies as well as industry stakeholders.
3.3 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next twelve months to work toward removing subsidies and incentives that undermine biodiversity and redirecting towards nature positive activities.
3.4. The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next twelve months to develop and disseminate compliance and opportunity guidance for US and EU companies (esp. SMEs) in the supply chain affected by both the current as well as the emerging suite of rules from the EU Green Deal, such as the EU Due Diligence rule[1] and the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities, non-climate objectives[2].
Working Group 4: Democracy and Transparency
4.1 The EU and US should convene EEAS and State Department colleagues along with other relevant agencies (including those tasked with economic policy) over the next twelve months to develop a new strategy for promoting democratic values in a strategically complex world.
4.2 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next six months to design the core principles of a new Kleptocracy Firewall.
Working Group 5: Digital Economy
5.1 The EU and US should use the TTC Strategic Standardization Information (SSI) over the next six months to reach consensus around a common vocabulary for the role of data.
5.2 The EU and US should use the TTC SSI over the next six months to reach consensus around key capabilities that can establish a clear baseline for consumer IoT (Internet of Things) security.
5.3 The EU and US should use the TTC SSI over the next six months to coordinate on standards development to establish a baseline for companies to develop mutually recognized artificial intelligence (AI) risk assessments.
5.4 The EU and US should use the TTC SSI over the next six months to identify a workable definition of research using personal data that balances the need for privacy with the need for knowledge creation.
5.5 The EU and US should fund and convene over the next six months a transatlantic workshop that uses scenario development to assess societal needs and perceptions regarding data privacy and economic activity.
5.6 The EU and US should use TTC working group 9 over the next six months to develop shared core steps for cybersecurity that can be readily implemented by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Working Group 6: Regulatory Cooperation
6.1 The EU and US should develop new shared principles via the TTC and other processes over the next twelve months for addressing services sectors’ needs for enhanced regulatory cooperation analogous to the cooperation in goods sectors.
6.2 The EU and US should use appropriate agencies over the next six months to identify all existing transatlantic regulatory dialogues and link those processes within the TTC discussions on regulations.
6.3 The EU and US should use appropriate agencies over the next six months to examine and to disseminate the most important implications of the recently concluded Services Domestic Regulation negotiations.
6.4 The EU and US should use conduct over the next twelve months a learning process built from studying regulatory variations.
6.5 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next six months to promote transatlantic cooperation for modernising FDI screening and export controls.
6.6 The EU and US should use appropriate agencies over the next twelve months to balance consumer protection with less regulations.
6.7 The EU and US should use appropriate agencies over the next six months to examine potential transatlantic transparency approaches based upon existing relationships e.g., EU – Canada CETA.
Working Group 7: Trade and Investment
7.1 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next twelve months to advance the resilience and security of supply chains.
7.2 The EU and US should use the TTC and other processes over the next six months to identify waivers (or other workarounds) to enable transatlantic trade.
7.3 The EU and US should use appropriate agencies and processes over the next twelve months to pursue trade agreements in vertical sectors, including textiles.
7.4 The EU and US should use appropriate agencies and processes over the next six months to examine trade agreements from other regions to help reinvigorate transatlantic trade.