The Most Important Global Trade Group You’ve Never Heard Of
The US-European Union Trade and Technology Council, an influential new economic coordination forum, held its third session on Dec. 5. From left are EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
Photographer: Ting Shen/BloombergAfter long championing the World Trade Organization (and its predecessor GATT) as the key venue for pursuing its commercial economic interests, the US shifted more than a decade ago toward building an alternative trade architecture.
President Barack Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership was aimed at crafting an Asia-Pacific trade bloc that left out China, a plan that was upended by his successor. Now, there’s a new body that warrants close attention: the US-European Union Trade and Technology Council, or TTC.