Data Flows and Digital Cooperation on the Agenda for U.S.-EU Leaders’ Summit

On June 15, President Biden will meet with European Union leaders in Brussels for the first U.S.-EU leaders’ summit since 2014. Global economic recovery is a priority, and bilateral trade and digital cooperation is on the top of the agenda. One test of whether the renewed U.S.-EU partnership can deliver results is the conclusion of a new Privacy Shield.

A new pact will inject much needed certainty into the transatlantic economy, which relies on the ability of all firms to transfer personal information from Europe to the United States. Without a new Privacy Shield, U.S. exports and American affiliates in the EU will continue to be targeted by privacy regulators and other proponents of forced data localization. U.S. businesses will consequently face diminished access to a market of 450 million consumers, threatening American competitiveness and millions of American jobs.

Transatlantic data flows have been affected by the European Court of Justice’s ruling in the Schrems II case, which was centered on European concerns about U.S. government access to personal information. Since the ruling in July 2020 U.S. businesses have found themselves in the middle of a dispute between the U.S. Government, whose lawful surveillance practices keep Americans and Europeans safe from shared threats to our security, and European privacy regulators insistent on a fundamentalist reading of the Court’s ruling.

To read more about the summit and the digital agenda on the U.S. Chamber website.