Conference in Berlin (June 9-10, 2026)
Tariffs, industrial subsidies, export controls, and diverging regulatory approaches are placing increasing strain on transatlantic economic relations. At the same time, intensifying global competition over critical technologies is pushing Europe and the United States to recalibrate their trade and technology strategies. How can a sustainable transatlantic agenda be shaped under these conditions?
Against this backdrop, the fourth German-American Trade and Tech Conference (GATT-C) will take place in Berlin on June 9–10, 2026, organized by Aspen Institute Germany and hosted with the State Representation of Baden-Württemberg as part of the German-American Trade and Tech Dialogue (GATT-D). Under the title “Navigating Strategic Rivalries: Transatlantic Trade and Tech in an Age of Competition,” the conference will convene key decision makers from government, business, and academia.
The discussions will address both current points of friction and forward-looking priorities on the transatlantic agenda: the impact of tariffs and industrial subsidies, approaches to export controls and investment screening, coordination in EU–U.S. trade policy, and the development of a joint technology strategy in an era of heightened global rivalry.
Participants will also examine risks in global supply chains, dependencies in critical technologies, questions of standards-setting and regulation, and strategic positioning vis-à-vis China and other competitors. The objective is to strike a viable balance between economic openness, competitiveness, and security interests and to identify concrete pathways for resilient transatlantic cooperation in trade and technology.
Speakers and Moderators
- Dr. Andreas Audretsch
- Member of the German Bundestag, Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen
- Fabian Bahr
- Head of Public and Government Affairs, Carl Zeiss AG
- Beth Baltzan
- Deputy Director, Coalition for New Trade
- Dr. Fabienne Beez
- Head of Representative Office Berlin, DEKRA SE
- Karan Bhatia
- Vice-President, Global Head, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google
- David Blumberg
- Founder & Managing Partner, Blumberg Capital
- Ben Brake
- Director General, DOT Europe
- Dr. Nicola Brandt
- Head, OECD Berlin Centre
- Jake Braun
- Former Acting Principal Deputy National Cyber Director, Biden White House, and CEO, Cambridge Global Advisors
- Marco-Alexander Breit
- Director General Digital Policy and Economic Affairs at the German Federal Ministry of Digital Transformation and Government Modernization
- Antonia Bruhn
- Head of Public Policy Germany, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Dr. Sandra Detzer
- Member of the German Bundestag, Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen
- Ana Dujic
- Director General, Digital, Work, Society, German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
- Christian Forwick
- Deputy Director-General, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
- Dr. Shikoh Gitau
- CEO, Qhala
- Metin Hakverdi
- Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation, German Federal Foreign Office
- John Hancock
- G20/G7 Sherpa, Head of Policy Development, World Trade Organization
- Carmen Heidecke
- German Ambassador to World Trade Organization (WTO)
- Arno Heuermann
- Managing Director, COO, Partner, Catenion GmbH
- Rudi Hoogvliet
- Representative of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the Federal Government
- Matthew Houlihan
- Vice President, Government Affairs, Europe, Cisco
- Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Matt Isler
- Vice President (Acting) and Corporate Regional Executive, Europe, NATO, and Middle East, Northrop Grumman Corporation
- Chantal Kopf
- Member of the German Bundestag, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
- Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut
- Minister of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism of the State of Baden-Württemberg
- Dr. Sharinee L. Jagtiani
- Fellow, GMF Technology, German Marshall Fund of the United States
- Frederike Kaltheuner
- Advisor, AI Now Institute
- Katja Krüger
- Head of Government Relations, DIN e.V.
- Dr. Sergey Lagodinsky
- Member of the European Parliament
- Kim Larsen
- Partner, Stinson LLC
- Lorenz Lehmhaus
- Founder, Defense Valley
- Dr. Nicole Lemke
- Senior Policy Researcher AI Systems, Markets & Governance, interface
- Michael Link
- Member, Federal Executive Board of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), and former Interim Vice Chair for International Policy, FDP
- Alexander Lücke
- Deputy Director-General, National Economic Security and Energy Security, German Federal Ministry for Economics and Energy
- Dr. Laura Mahrenbach
- Adjunct Professor, Technical University Munich
- Dr. Nathalie Martin-Hübner
- Head of the Corporate Office for Governmental Affairs, Robert Bosch GmbH
- Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner
- Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany
- Taewoo Nam
- Professor, Graduate School of Governance, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
- Oliver Noyan
- Journalist and Editor, POLITICO
- Frederik Olivanti
- Head of Sales, Europe, Wire
- Dr. Lara Petersen
- Managing Director, German Health Alliance Industry Network for Global Health
- Veronika Pfister
- Head of the Berlin Office, Siemens Healthineers
- Lars Purkarthofer
- Director of Public Affairs DACH, UPS
- Monique Priestley
- Member of the Vermont House of Representatives, D-Orange-2
- John Reyels
- Director for Digitalisation, Cyberdefence, Digital and Data Policy at the German Federal Foreign Office
- Andrea Rotter
- Head of Division Foreign and Security Policy, Hanns Seidel Foundation
- Dr. Norbert Röttgen
- Member of the German Bundestag (CDU/CSU)
- Liba Wenig Rubenstein
- Director, Economic Opportunities Program, Future of Work Initiative, Aspen Institute
- Dr. Sebastian Schäfer
- Member of the German Bundestag, Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen
- Claudia Schmucker
- Head of the Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
- Armin Smajilovic
- Vice President, Kimetec USA Inc.
- Johannes Steger
- Managing Director, Head Digital Crisis EU, FGS Global
- Felix Styma
- Managing Partner, iconomy
- Commander Göran Swistek
- Spokesperson, German Federal Ministry of Defence
- Sascha Tamm
- Head of International Political Dialogue, Friedrich Naumann Foundation on Freedom
- Shane Tews
- Nonresident Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
- Nicole Tisdale
- Senior Advisor, Aspen Digital
- Cristian Tracci
- Strategy Officer, European Cyber Security Organisation
- Bryant Trick
- Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East
- Dr. Anna van Santen
- Head of Office, International Affairs, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
- Anja Wehler-Schöck
- Member of the Editorial Board, Tagesspiegel
- Rebekka Weiß
- Head of Regulatory Policy, Senior Manager Government Affairs, Microsoft
- Louis Westendarp
- Journalist, POLITICO
- Lauryn Williams
- Deputy Director, Strategic Technologies Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Tobias Ziegler
- Chairman of the Board and Co-founder, Astrolab
- Dr. Ivana Zuzul
- Vice President, Europe, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Agenda
Day 1: June 9, 2026
| 11:00 – 12:15 | Small Lunch Reception and Registration |
| 12:15 – 12:45 | Welcome Remarks from Hosting Partner Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister of Economic Affairs, Skilled Crafts and Tourism of the State of Baden-Württemberg (video) Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany |
| 12:45 – 13:00 | Setting the Scene: Innovation in an Era of Competition Karan Bhatia, Vice President, Global Head, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Panel Discussion 1: Markets, Microchips, and Might: How Trade and Technology Redefine Power and Security Andreas Audretsch, Member of the German Bundestag, Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen Karan Bhatia, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google David Blumberg, Founder & Managing Partner, Blumberg Capital Christian Forwick, Deputy Director-General, External Economic Relations, Trade Policy and America, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Nathalie Martin-Hübner, Head of the Corporate Office for Governmental Affairs, Robert Bosch GmbH Moderator: Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany |
| 14:00 – 14:30 | Spotlight Talk 1: U.S. Trade Policy Over the Years: The Good, the Bad, and the Importance of Partnership Dan Mullaney, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council, former Assistant US Trade Tepresentative (AUSTR) for Europe and the Middle East Clark Price, Senior Fellow, American German Institute, former Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), U.S. Embassy in Berlin |
| 14:30 – 15:00 | Coffee Break |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Spotlight Talk 2: Firewalls and Fault Lines: Cybersecurity in U.S.–European Relations Jake Braun, Former Acting Principal Deputy National Cyber Director, Biden White House, and CEO, Cambridge Global Advisors (virtual) John Reyels, Director for Digitalisation, Cyberdefence, Digital and Data Policy, German Federal Foreign Office Cristian Tracci, Strategy Officer, European Cyber Security Organisation Moderator: Johannes Steger, Managing Director, Head Digital Crisis EU, FGS Global |
| 15:30 – 16:30 | Panel Discussion 2: Shockproof and Sustainable: Building Supply Chains for a Riskier World Fabian Bahr, Head of Public and Government Affairs, Carl Zeiss AG Kim Larsen, Partner, Stinson LLC Michael Link, Member, Federal Executive Board of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), and former Interim Vice Chair for International Policy, FDP Alexander Lücke, Deputy Director-General, National Economic Security and Energy Security, German Federal Ministry for Economics and Energy Lars Purkarthofer, Director of Public Affairs DACH, UPS Sebastian Schäfer, Member of the German Bundestag, Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen Dr. Ivana Zuzul, Vice President, Europe, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Virtual) Moderator: Anja Wehler-Schöck, Member of the Editorial Board, Tagesspiegel |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Coffee Break |
| 17:00 – 18:30 | Oxford Style Debate: Digital Sovereignty: Walling Off or Working with? Team 1: Digital resilience is best achieved through cooperation with partners and international interdependencies, not through strategic autonomy and sovereignty. Ben Brake, Director General, DOT Europe Dr. Sharinee Jagtiani, Fellow, GMF Technology, German Marshall Fund of the United States Dr. Nicole Lemke, Senior Policy Reseacher AI Systems, Markets & Governance, interface Dr. Laura Mahrenbach, Adjunct Professor, Technical University Munich, Senior Researcher, University of Bonn Team 2: Digital resilience is best achieved through strategic autonomy and sovereignty, not through cooperation with partners and international interdependencies. Frederike Kaltheuner, Advisor, AI Now Institute Frederik Olivanti, Head of Sales, Europe, Wire Felix Styma, Managing Partner, iconomy Shane Tews, Nonresident Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute Moderator: Nicole Tisdale, Senior Advisor, Aspen Digital |
| 18:30 – 18:45 | Closing Remarks Day 1 |
Day 2: June 10, 2026
| 9:00 – 9:30 | Coffee and Registration |
| 9:30 – 9:35 | Welcome Remarks Day 2 Rudi Hoogvliet, Representative of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the Federal Government |
| 9:35 – 10:05 | Keynote 3: Europe in the New Age of Geoeconomics Dr. Sergey Lagodinsky, Member of the European Parliament |
| 10:05 – 11:00 | Panel Discussion 3: Modernizing Multilateralism: Can the Trading System Be Saved? Beth Baltzan, Deputy Director, Coalition for New Trade John Hancock, G20/G7 Sherpa, Head of Policy Development, World Trade Organization Carmen Heidecke, German Ambassador to World Trade Organization (WTO) Matthew Houlihan, Vice President, Government Affairs, Europe, Cisco Chantal Kopf, Member of the German Bundestag, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen Katja Krüger, Head of Government Relations, DIN e.V. Moderator: Oliver Noyan, Journalist and Editor, POLITICO |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Coffee Break |
| 11:30 – 13:00 | Breakout Sessions with Audience Input Session 1: From Tools to Agents: AI and the Future of Work in Europe and the United States Antonia Bruhn, Head of Public Policy Germany, Amazon Web Service (AWS) Ana Dujic, Director General, Digital, Work, Society, German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs Monique Priestly, Member of the Vermont House of Representatives, D-Orange-2 Liba Rubenstein, Director, Economic Opportunities Program, Future of Work Initiative, Aspen Institute Moderator: Dr. Nicola Brandt, Head, OECD Berlin Centre Session 2: Curing the Rift: The Future of Transatlantic Health Cooperation Arno Heuermann, Managing Director, COO, Partner, Catenion GmbH Dr. Lara Petersen, Managing Director, German Health Alliance Industry Network for Global Health Veronika Pfister, Head of the Berlin Office, Siemens Healthineers Armin Smajilovic, Vice President, Kimetec USA Inc. Dr. Anna van Santen, Head of Office, International Affairs, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin Moderator: Louis Westendarp, Journalist, POLITICO Session 3: From Space to Sea: Securing Critical Infrastructure in an Age of Strategic Competition Dr. Fabienne Beez, Head of Representative Office Berlin, DEKRA SE Dr. Sandra Detzer, Member of the German Bundestag, Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen Andrea Rotter, Head of Division Foreign and Security Policy, Hanns Seidel Foundation Lauryn Williams, Deputy Director, Strategic Technologies Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Tobias Ziegler, Chairman of the Board and Co-founder, Astrolab Moderator: Claudia Schmucker, Head of the Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch |
| 14:00 – 14:30 | Two on Two: Economic Statecraft in an Era of Strategic Competition (Chatham House Rule, not live-streamed) Metin Hakverdi, Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation, German Federal Foreign Office Bryant Trick, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East Moderator: Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany |
| 14:30 – 15:30 | Panel Discussion 4: Global AI Governance at a Crossroads: Cooperation or Fragmentation? Marco-Alexander Breit, Director General, Digital Policy and Economic Affairs, German Federal Ministry of Digital Transformation and Government Modernization Dr. Shikoh Gitau, CEO of Qhala, Kenya (virtual) Taewoo Nam, Professor, Graduate School of Governance, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) Rebekka Weiß, Head of Regulatory Policy, Senior Manager Government Affairs, Microsoft Moderator: Sascha Tamm, Head of the Transatlantic Dialogue and Latin America Division, Friedrich Naumann Foundation |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Coffee Break |
| 16:00 – 17:00 | Panel Discussion 5: Strategic Autonomy or Alliance Integration? Transatlantic Defense Cooperation at a Crossroads Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Executive Vice President, Bertelsmann Foundation Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Matt Isler, Vice President (Acting) and Corporate Regional Executive, Europe, NATO, and Middle East, Northrop Grumman Corporation Lorenz Lehmhaus, Founder, Defense Valley Dr. Norbert Röttgen, Member of the German Bundestag (CDU/CSU) Commander Göran Swistek, Spokesperson, German Federal Ministry of Defence Moderator: Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany |
| 17:00 – 17:15 | Closing Remarks and Wrap-up |
GATT Young Leaders
- Alma Gretenkord
- Chair Berlin Forum, Young German Council on Foreign Relations
- Josef Hebeda
- Chairman, The Academic Association for Security Studies (BSH)
- Samuel Ingold
- Member Potsdam, The Academic Association for Security Studies (BSH)
- Daniel Kuna
- Association Cockpit, Young German Council on Foreign Relations
- Leni Lindemann
- Chair Working Group Climate Politics, Young German Council on Foreign Relations / Public Sector Consultant @ PwC
- Kimberly Locher
- The Academic Association for Security Studies (BSH)
- Mariam Kublashvili
- President, Youth Atlantic Treaty Association Germany
- David Müller
- Member Working Group Intelligence, Young German Council on Foreign Relations / Managing Director, Venatic Intelligence GmbH
- Sophia Pryshchepna
- Humboldt University of Berlin, Youth Atlantic Treaty Association Germany
- Finn Schulte
- Chief of Staff, Young Transatlantic Initiative
- Shkumbim Emini
- Treasurer, Young Transatlantic Initiative
- Fritz v. Stülpnagel
- DefTech Europe, Youth Atlantic Treaty Association Germany
- Laurent Weißenberger
- Board Member, Young German Council on Foreign Relations
- Lukas Winkelmann
- President, Young Transatlantic Initiative
