EU, US Look To Repair Relations At Tech Summit

US and EU officials opened their two-day, high-level meetings in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, an effort to repair relations damaged under the administration of former president Donald Trump and boost cooperation on technology issues. The inaugural meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) comes as industries worldwide grapple with shortages of crucial semiconductors and is being held in Pittsburgh, a Pennsylvania city that was once the heart of the American steel industry and has since evolved into a tech hub. The ministers met at Mill 19, a massive World War II-era munitions factory and later steel mill on the shores of the Monongahela River that has been reborn as an advanced robotics facility for researchers from Carnegie Mellon University. The shadow of steel hangs over the meetings in other ways as well, especially as the two sides have yet to resolve a conflict over Trump-era tariffs on steel and aluminum. The former president cited US national security concerns in June 2018 when he imposed punitive tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, which have been a thorn in the side of trans-Atlantic relations since.