Google is concerned about the crumbling relationship between the US and the EU. The company is therefore urging the US to accept a European proposal for a Trade and Technology Council.
In a blog post, Google says that the positive cooperation that the US and the EU have had over the past two decades has created new and cheaper technology and millions of jobs on both continents. It has allowed companies to reach customers all over the world and generate trillions of dollars in sales.
Concerns about increasing regulations
However, the company is concerned about increasing regulation in the field of digital technology. By this, the company refers mainly to the many European rules that try to limit the influence of large foreign companies. Tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon, for example, are constantly under fire in Europe.
Google fears that these measures pose a risk to the prosperity of both the US and the rest of the world. The company finds the crumbling relationship between the US and Europe more worrying than the situation with the US-China relationship.
EU-US cooperation proposal
However, the European Union has reached out a hand to improve the situation. In December 2020, the EU proposed the EU-US Trade and Technology Council. This is an initiative in which the EU wants to work with the US to counter irritants in trade by engaging in conversation and cooperation. The talks will focus on the responsibility of online platforms and Big Tech, fair taxations and the countering of problems in the market. Artificial intelligence, data flows and cooperation on regulation and standards are also discussed.
Google hopes that such cooperation between the EU and the US will prevent unilateral decisions and ensure that new regulation of technology is discussed first. The company specifically mentions the Digital Markets Act, a forthcoming EU law aimed at countering unfair practices by search engines, social networks and sales platforms, among others.
EU trying to tame tech giants
With improved cooperation, Google mainly seems to hope that the American government can ease the pain of stricter European regulations for tech giants. Both the European Union and various countries within the bloc are working hard on strict legislation to reduce the influence on American tech giants and to give European companies more opportunities in the market.
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