Politics

Secretary of Commerce met in Madrid with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez

They agreed on the need to make progress

Sánchez, left, and Riamondo
(Source: Pool Moncloa/Fernando Delgado)
USPA NEWS - Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, met this Thursday at Moncloa Palace with Gina Riamondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, to discuss trade and technology issues with a view to the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The meeting comes just days after the US-EU Trade and Technology Council meeting in Sweden on May 31, where important bilateral agreements were reached between the two blocs. They agreed on the need to make rapid progress on a joint roadmap to regulate and reduce the risks of Artificial Intelligence. The Spanish president told Gina Riamondo that Spain was the first country to create a State Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence, and is host to the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency.
During the meeting, they also discussed the strengthening of collaboration between the U.S. and Spain in the development of the semiconductor value chain, and they exchanged views on various international trade issues and preparations for the forthcoming EU-CELAC summit.
The Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU will work about the importance of continuing to focus on reindustrialization and making progress in the green and digital transitions. These are some of the issues Spain discussed when addressing the current state of the law on critical raw materials, the Net-Zero Industry Act, the regulation of artificial intelligence and the package on the decarbonisation of the gas and hydrogen markets.
Recently and regarding the importance of diversification of supply chains for Europe, President Sánchez emphasized the pending trade agreements with Latin America. "It is a region with which we share culture and values," he said, reiterating the need to make progress on agreements with Chile, Mexico and Mercosur.
The reform of the electricity market was also other issue that Spain will work on. President Sánchez recalled that energy is another of the vulnerabilities the war in Ukraine has highlighted, and expressed his intention to reach an agreement before the end of this year that guarantees our consumers and companies a secure supply, at reasonable prices and in line with the objectives of climate neutrality.
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