- January 29, 2025
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- January 29, 2025
On January 29, the Aspen Institute Germany will hold the first workshop of the 2024-2025 German-American Trade and Tech Dialogue cycle. Titled “Tariffs, Technology, and Tensions – Managing Transatlantic Trade Risks,” the timely event will focus on the evolving challenges and opportunities in transatlantic trade as the United States and the European Union navigate a period of heightened uncertainty and strategic tension. The workshop will examine how a second Trump administration will affect the U.S.-EU economic partnership, with increased protectionism, regulatory divergence, and strategic competition over technology and energy potentially straining relations. On the EU side, a new European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen’s leadership is prioritizing competitiveness, sustainability, and strategic autonomy. These dynamics create a complex environment for cooperation, with diverging priorities over issues such as tariffs, regulatory alignment, and responses to China. Participants will have the opportunity to explore strategies to address these challenges during the workshop, which will begin with a plenary session outlining the current transatlantic trade landscape. This will be followed by a robust discussion featuring input statements and collaborative dialogue on mitigating trade tensions, fostering resilience, and ensuring that shared priorities like security, sustainability, and competitiveness remain achievable. Aspen Germany looks forward to welcoming the following speakers: Khalil Gharbieh, Senior Director of Trade Policy at Microsoft; Prof. Jennifer Hillman, Professor of Practice at the Georgetown University Law Center, Co-Director, Institute of International Economic Law, and Co-Founder, Center for Inclusive Trade and Development; Konrad Klingenburg, Executive Secretary and Board Member of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB); Thibaut L’Ortye, Senior Director of Public Affairs at AmCham EU; Peter Pedersen, Chief of the Trade Monitoring Section at the World Trade Organization (WTO); Marie von Stauffenberg, Public Policy Manager at Meta; and Pauline Weinzierl, Deputy Head of Unit for USA and Canada Relations at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade, moderated by Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner.
