
Conference in Berlin (March 19 – 20, 2024)
The German-American Trade and Tech Conference was held March 19-20, 2024 at the Landesvertretung Baden-Württemberg in Berlin. Entitled “Trade, Tech, and Transformation: Transatlantic Visions in Action,” the conference sought to elevate the discussion of German-American and European-American cooperation to a broader level, by bringing together a variety of perspectives and stakeholders. It also provided an opportunity to deepen relationships among the high-level participants from the workshops.
The event was recorded and took place in English to appeal to an international audience and a diverse group of speakers and participants. Please find the recording of Day 1 (March 19) here and of day two (March 20) here. Pictures from the 1.5-day conference are available here. For more takeaways from the conference, check out our interview series linked below. The conference report is available here.
GATTC 2024 Wrap-Up Video
Speakers & Moderators
- Dr. Martin Andree
- Founder / CEO of AMP Digital Ventures GmbH
- Andreas Audretsch
- Member of the German Bundestag, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN
- Tobias Bacherle
- Member of the German Bundestag, Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen
- Heather Boushey
- Member of the Council of Economic Advisors and Chief Economist to the Investing in America Cabinet, The White House
- Benjamin Brake
- Director General of Digital and Data Policy at the German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV)
- Dr. Nicola Brandt
- Head of the OECD Berlin Centre
- Loyle Campbell
- Research Fellow, Center for Climate and Foreign Policy, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
- Christina von Busch
- Senior Case Handler for Digital Platforms (DMA Task Force) at DG Competition at the European Commission
- Ana Chubinidze
- CEO & Founder, AdalanAI
- Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook
- Executive Vice President and Senior Adviser, Bertelsmann Foundation
- Mark Copelovitch
- Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Christina Decker
- Deputy Director General for “Issues of EU foreign trade and security policy, sanctions, foreign trade and payments law and export controls” at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
- Sushan Demirjian
- Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Small Business, Market Access, and Industrial Competitiveness
- Mauritius Dorn
- Senior Digital Policy and Education Manager at ISD Germany
- Steven Erlanger
- Chief Diplomatic Correspondent, The New York Times
- Julia Friedlander
- CEO, Atlantik-Brücke
- Sybille Gabler
- Member of the Management Board, External Relations Division, DIN e.V.
- Katharina Gnath
- Senior Manager for Valuation, Modelling & Economics, Deloitte
- Alexandre F. Gomes
- Research Fellow at the Clingendael Insitute
- Dr. Christina Gommlich
- Head of Berlin Office Corporate Government Relations, BASF SE
- Scot Gonzalez
- Regional Export Control Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce
- Amy Gutmann
- U.S. Ambassador to Germany
- Dr. Kristina Hatas
- Advocacy Officer for Human Rights in the Digital Age
- Henning Hoff
- Executive Editor, Internationale Politik Quarterly
- Jörn Holtmeier
- Managing Director of AUMA – Association of the German Trade Fair Industry
- Arne Holzhausen
- Head of Economic Research’s Insurance, Wealth & ESG team at Allianz SE
- Dr. Marion Jansen
- Director of the Trade and Agriculture Directorate (TAD), OECD
- Gyde Jensen
- Member of the German Bundestag, Free Democratic Party (FDP)
- Dr. Thorsten Käseberg
- Head of Competition Policy, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
- Dr. Nikolas Keßels
- Senior Manager External Economic Policy, BDI – Federation of German Industries
- Dr. Caroline King
- Global Head Government Affairs Business Development, SAP
- Dr. Rüdiger von Kleist
- Director of the IMF and International Financial Architecture Division, Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)
- Dr. Janis Kluge
- Deputy Head of the Eastern Europe and Eurasia Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP Berlin)
- Prof. Dr. Galina Kolev-Schaefer
- Professor of Economics at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences (TH Köln) and Senior Researcher at the German Economic Institute (IW) in Cologne
- Dr. Alina Kontareva
- Senior Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
- Douglas Kriner
- The Clinton Rossiter Professor in American Institutions in the Department of Government and Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University
- Nicolas Lamp
- Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Queen’s University
- Lorenz Lehmhaus
- Associate Partner, IBM Consulting
- Caroline Lindekamp
- Project Lead noFake CORRECTIV – Recherchen für die Gesellschaft
- Terry Martin
- Independent Journalist & TV News Anchor
- Dr. Nathalie Martin-Hübner
- Vice President Governemental Affairs, Robert Bosch GmbH
- Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner
- Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany
- Valeria Moy
- General Director of the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO)
- Hanna Müller
- Head of Division for Political Systems, Hybrid Threats, and Disinformation at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI)
- Hildegard Müller
- President, German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA)
- Dr. Melanie Müller
- Senior Associate with a focus on South Africa/Southern Africa at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, SWP)
- Andries Oosthuizen
- Minister Plenipotentiary, Deputy Head of Mission, South African Embassy, Berlin, Germany
- Hubertus Paetow
- President of the German Agricultural Society (DLG)
- Dr. Frances Palmiotto
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre for Fundamental Rights, Hertie School
- Peter Pedersen
- Chief of Trade Monitoring Section, World Trade Organization
- Claudia Plattner
- President of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI)
- Johannes Pockrandt
- Managing Director and Head of Government Affairs for Europe at Citigroup
- Lars Purkarthofer
- Director of Public Affairs, UPS
- Semjon Rens
- Public Policy Director, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Meta
- Anne-Kathrin Röthemeyer
- Head of the German National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (NCP) at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
- Jeremy Rollison
- Head of EU Policy, Senior Director of European Government Affairs, in Microsoft’s Corporate, External & Legal Affairs (CELA)
- Sebastian Schäfer
- Member of the German Bundestag, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN
- Vivian Schiller
- Executive Director, Aspen Digital
- Dr. Claudia Schmucker
- Head of the Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
- Juri Schnöller
- Co-Founder and Managing Director of Cosmonauts & Kings
- Clarissa Schulze-Bahr
- Head of Division for Trade Policy, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
- Christian Sommer
- Country Representative Germany, Austria and Switzerland bei Motion Picture Association (MPA)
- Claes-Mikael Ståhl
- Deputy General Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
- Johannes Steger
- Managing Editor, Tagesspiegel Background Cybersecurity
- Felix Styma
- Managing Partner of iconomy
- Sascha Tamm
- Head of the Transatlantic Dialogue and Latin America Division at the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung
- Ghanshyam Tiwari
- National Spokesperson of Samajwadi Party
- Niels Tomm
- Representative of the Board, Deutsche Börse
- Julia Wacket
- Berlin Playbook Reporter, POLITICO
- Brandon Wales
- Executive Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
- Anna Winger
- American writer, producer, screenwriter, and photographer
- Jörg Wojahn
- Adviser in the Americas Directorate, DG Trade, European Commission
- Prof. Dr. Cornelia Woll
- President, the Hertie School
- Dr. Jürgen Zattler
- Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Global Development
Agenda
Day 1: March 19, 2024
11:30 – 12:30 | Small Lunch Reception and Registration |
12:30 – 13:00 | Welcome Remarks from Hosting Partners Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing of the State of Baden-Württemberg (Video Message) Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany |
13:00 – 13:30 | Opening Keynote by Amy Gutmann, Ph.D., United States Ambassador to Germany |
13:30 – 14:30 | Panel Discussion 1: A Race to the Top? IRA, EU Green Deal, and the Competition for Green Tech Andreas Audretsch, Member of the German Bundestag, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN Sushan Demirjian, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Small Business, Market Access, and Industrial Competitiveness Hildegard Müller, President, German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) Claes-Mikael Ståhl, Deputy General Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation, ETUC Jörg Wojahn, Adviser in the Americas Directorate of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Trade Moderated by Julia Wacket, Berlin Playbook Reporter, POLITICO |
14:30 – 15:00 | Two-on-one Conversation: Prepared for the Worst? Transatlantic Cyber Relations Claudia Plattner, President of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) Brandon Wales, ExecutiveDirector of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) (virtual participation) Moderated by Johannes Steger, Tagesspiegel Background |
15:00 – 15:30 | Coffee Break |
15:30 – 16:30 | Panel Discussion 2: Good Tech – Good Democracy? Technology, Elections and Democracy Tobias Bacherle, Member of the German Bundestag, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN Benjamin Brake, Director General, Digital and Data Policy, German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport Dr. Caroline King, Global Head Government Affairs Business Development, SAP Hanna Müller, Head of Division, Political Systems, Hybrid Threats, and Disinformation at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) Semjon Rens, Public Policy Director, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Meta Jeremy Rollison, Head of EU Policy, European Government Affairs at Microsoft Moderated by Terry Martin, Independent Journalist & TV News Anchor |
16:30 – 17:00 | Spotlight Talk: Two-on-One Peter Pedersen, Chief of Trade Monitoring Section, World Trade Organization Clarissa Schulze-Bahr, Head of Division, EU/WTO Trade Policy, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) Moderated by Dr. Claudia Schmucker, Head of the Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) |
17:00 – 17:15 | Short Break |
17:15 – 18:30 | Oxford Style Debate: New Emerging Technologies – Panecea or Peril for Democracy and Peace? Team 1: New technologies (such as AI and quantum computing) have great potential and will enhance open, just, and democratic societies. Ana Chubinidze, CEO & Founder, AdalanAI Lorenz Lehmhaus, Associate Partner, IBM Consulting Caroline Lindekamp, Project Lead noFake CORRECTIV – Recherchen für die Gesellschaft Juri Schnöller, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Cosmonauts & Kings GmbH Team 2: New technologies (such as AI and quantum computing) pose a risk to open, just, democratic societies and could easily undermine them. Mauritius Dorn, Senior Digital Policy and Education Manager, ISD Germany Alexandre Gomes, Research Rellow, Clingendael Institute Doug Kriner, Clinton Rossiter Professor in American Institutions in the Department of Government, Cornell University Dr. Francesca Palmiotto, Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre for Fundamental Rights, Hertie School Moderated by Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Senior Advisor, Program Europe’s Future, Bertelsmann Stiftung |
19:00 | Closing Remarks Day 1 |
Day 2: March 20, 2024
9:00 – 9:30 | Coffee and Registration |
9:30 – 10:30 | Fishbowl Discussion: Transatlantic Relations before and after the EU & U.S. Elections Steven Erlanger, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent, The New York Times Anna LeVine Winger, American writer, producer, screenwriter, and photographer Moderated by Henning Hoff, Executive Editor, Internationale Politik Quarterly |
10:30 – 11:00 | Spotlight Talk: Confronting Geoeconomics: Sustainability Standards, Subsidies and Secure Supply of Critical Inputs Dr. Marion Jansen, Director of the Trade and Agriculture Directorate, OECD Moderated by Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany |
11:00 – 11:15 | Short Break |
11:15 – 12:30 | In-depth Sessions: (in-person participation only) 1. Sustainable Trade: Planet, People, Profit? Dr. Nicola Brandt, Head of the OECD Berlin Centre Kristina Hatas, International Law and Policy Advisor, Amnesty International Jörn Holtmeier, Managing Director of the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) Dr. Melanie Müller, Head of Project Research Network Sustainable Global Supply Chains, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) Lars Purkarthofer, Director of Public Affairs, UPS Anne-Kathrin Röthemeyer, Head of the German National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (NCP), Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) Moderated by Prof. Dr. Galina Kolev-Schaefer, Professor for Economics at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences and Senior Economist at the German Economic Institute 2. The Trade-Security Nexus: Sanctions, Export Controls, and Investment Protection Christina Decker, Head of Foreign Trade Law & Export Controls Division at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) Scot Gonzalez, Regional Export Control Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce Julia Friedlander, CEO, Atlantik-Brücke Dr. Nikolas Keßels, Senior Manager External Economic Policy, BDI – Federation of German Industries Dr. Janis Kluge, Deputy Head and Senior Associate, Eastern Europe, Eurasia Research Division, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) Moderated by Dr. Claudia Schmucker, Head of the Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) 3. The Future of Competition: Digital Platforms, Patent Protection, and Market Dominance Dr. Martin Andree, Expert for Digital / Media / Marketing, Author of “Big Tech muss Weg” Christina von Busch, Case Handler, Digital Platforms (DMA Task Force), DG Competition, European Commission Thorsten Käseberg, Head of Competition Policy, BMWK Dr. Alina Kontareva, Senior Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society Christian Sommer, Country Representative Germany, Austria and Switzerland bei Motion Picture Association Felix Styma, Managing Partner, iconomy Moderated by Vivian Schiller, Executive Director, Aspen Digital |
12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch |
13:30 – 14:30 | Panel Discussion 3: North & South, East & West: A Dialogue on the Transatlantic Relationship with the Global South Gyde Jensen, Member of the German Bundestag, Free Democratic Party (FDP) Nicolas Lamp, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Queen’s University Valeria Moy, General Director, Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) Andries Oosthuizen, Minister Plenipotentiary, Deputy Head of Mission, South African Embassy, Berlin, Germany Ghanshyam Tiwari, National Spokesperson of Samajwadi Party Dr. Jürgen Zattler, Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Global Development Moderated by Sascha Tamm, Head of the Transatlantic Dialogue and Latin America Division at the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung |
14:30 – 15:30 | Panel Discussion 4: Geopolitics and the Future of the Global Financial Order Mark Copelovitch, Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison Katharina Gnath, Senior Manager for Valuation, Modelling & Economics, Deloitte Arne Holzhausen, Economic Research, Allianz SE Dr. Rüdiger von Kleist, Director of the IMF and International Financial Architecture Division, Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) Johannes Pockrandt, Managing Director & Head of Government Affairs for Europe, Citigroup Niels Tomm, Representative of the Board, Deutsche Börse Moderated by Prof. Dr. Cornelia Woll, President, the Hertie School |
15:30 – 16:15 | Coffee Break |
16:15 – 16:45 | Spotlight Talk: The Future of Equitable Growth and Development in the United States: the U.S. Economy in a Changing Global Economy Heather Boushey, Member of the Council of Economic Advisors (virtual participation) Moderated by Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany |
16:45 – 17:45 | Panel Discussion 5: Thinking Outside the Box: Towards a Sustainable Global Economy Loyle Campbell, Research Fellow, Center for Climate and Foreign Policy, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) Sybille Gabler, Member of the Management Board, External Relations Division, DIN e.V. Dr. Christina Gommlich, Head of Berlin Office Corporate Government Relations, BASF SE Dr. Nathalie Martin-Hübner, Vice President Governemental Affairs, Robert Bosch GmbH Hubertus Paetow, President, German Agricultural Society Sebastian Schäfer, Member of the German Bundestag, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN Moderated by Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany |
17:45 – 18:00 | Closing Remarks |
Interviews from the GATTC 2024
