US, EU agree to expand data exchange to prevent Russia from circumventing sanctions

The US and the EU have announced about expansion of the exchange of information on important technologies to prevent Russia from circumventing Western sanctions following a meeting in Paris. 

“During the ministerial meeting, the co-chairs of the US and EU Trade and Technology Council reviewed the results of the work of the joint working groups and announced key results, including the intensification of information exchange regarding the export of important US and EU technologies by initially focusing on Russia and other countries that could potentially avoid sanctions,” TASS reports referring to a recent document released by the White House.

A new mechanism for cooperation on issues related to the reliability of information during crisis, especially on digital platforms, has been created by focusing on current issues, including Russia’s actions aimed at manipulating information and censorship.

The statement was made about the establishment of a political dialogue aimed at developing responses to global food security problems that the US and the EU think were caused by the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.

On the US side, the meeting of the Trade and Technology Council was co-chaired by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Trade Representative Katherine Tai, while on the EU side by Vice-Presidents of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis and Margrethe Vestager.

The decision of establishing a bilateral Trade and Technology Council to promote green and digital technologies was made in June 2021 following the EU-US summit.

Blinken, Raimondo, Tai, Dombrovskis and Vestager also attended the first council meeting in Pittsburgh on September 30, 2021.