European and U.S. former government officials said they think the U.S. and European countries will find much common ground in efforts to make trade work for working people, but that getting on the same page with China will be a challenge.

A draft prepared in advance of the European Union-U.S. summit says the EU and the U.S. agree to work to find a way to roll back the Section 232 tariffs on European steel and aluminum by Dec. 1, Bloomberg reported June 8. The two sides previously said they were working on finding an effective way to counter Chinese overcapacity in metals by the end of the year, so the tariffs could be lifted. The EU has said it will immediately lift its retaliatory tariffs against American exports once the 232 tariffs are gone. The same draft also says the U.S. and the EU pledge to resolve the Airbus-Boeing dispute by July 11. That's when the temporary pause on tariffs on both sides is slated to end.

The European Union's ambassador to the U.S. said that as the world watches the European Union-U.S. summit in a week, they will be looking to see that “we are capable of resolving quickly and effectively our bilateral trade irritants.” He said they also want to see “that we can work and will work together to address the new challenges that sit on the nexus of technology and trade and security.” He said that export controls and cyber security measures are some of the ways to address those challenges, and there should be an announcement at the conference on those matters.

A draft prepared in advance of the European Union-U.S. summit says the EU and the U.S. agree to work to find a way to roll back the Section 232 tariffs on European steel and aluminum by Dec. 1, Bloomberg reported June 8. The two sides previously said they were working on finding an effective way to counter Chinese overcapacity in metals by the end of the year, so the tariffs could be lifted. The EU has said it will immediately lift its retaliatory tariffs against American exports once the 232 tariffs are gone. The same draft also says the U.S. and the EU pledge to resolve the Airbus-Boeing dispute by July 11. That's when the temporary pause on tariffs on both sides is slated to end.

The European Union's ambassador to the U.S. said that as the world watches the European Union-U.S. summit in a week, they will be looking to see that “we are capable of resolving quickly and effectively our bilateral trade irritants.” He said they also want to see “that we can work and will work together to address the new challenges that sit on the nexus of technology and trade and security.” He said that export controls and cyber security measures are some of the ways to address those challenges, and there should be an announcement at the conference on those matters.

Trade and business relations between the European Union and China will likely grow more challenging in the wake of the EU’s decision to pause ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (see 2105240023), a European policy expert said. Even so, China will likely push the EU to move forward on the deal, another expert said, as it doesn’t want a series of escalating sanctions by the two sides to continue.

Stimulus spending, the sustained role of technology and the ongoing shift to hybrid work models caused unexpected gains in Best Buy’s comparable sales for fiscal Q1 ended May 2, said CEO Corie Barry on a Thursday earnings call. Comparable sales grew 37% from a year earlier, led by home theater, computing and appliances.

ATSC paused its initiative with Indian authorities to help boost deployment there of ATSC 3.0 broadcast services to mobile devices (see 2103290016) at the outbreak of that country’s COVID-19 crisis, President Madeleine Noland told us. “When it’s safe to do so, we’ll pick up where we left off,” she said. The situation on the ground in India is “heartbreaking,” said Noland Monday. “All we can do is patiently stand aside, recognizing that other things are much, much, much more important in that country right now than this project. We’re looking forward to the day when things are better and different.” The project’s “apparatus” is firmly “in place, ready to be fired up again when it becomes feasible and appropriate” to do so, she said. ATSC’s NAB Show 2021 “main” messaging in October (see report, May 25 issue) will be that NextGenTV “has reached critical mass in terms of commercial deployment,” said Noland. “This thing is for real.” She sees 3.0 “as a platform,” and “it’s going to evolve as the marketplace evolves.” Standards organizations like ATSC need to “stay ahead of the curve, and that’s what we’re doing,” she said.

ATSC paused its initiative with Indian authorities to help boost deployment there of ATSC 3.0 broadcast services to mobile devices (see 2103290016) at the outbreak of that country’s COVID-19 crisis, President Madeleine Noland told us. “When it’s safe to do so, we’ll pick up where we left off,” she said. The situation on the ground in India is “heartbreaking,” said Noland Monday. “All we can do is patiently stand aside, recognizing that other things are much, much, much more important in that country right now than this project. We’re looking forward to the day when things are better and different.” The project’s “apparatus” is firmly “in place, ready to be fired up again when it becomes feasible and appropriate” to do so, she said. ATSC’s NAB Show 2021 “main” messaging in October (see report, May 25 issue) will be that NextGenTV “has reached critical mass in terms of commercial deployment,” said Noland. “This thing is for real.” She sees 3.0 “as a platform,” and “it’s going to evolve as the marketplace evolves.” Standards organizations like ATSC need to “stay ahead of the curve, and that’s what we’re doing,” she said.

The European Parliament passed a nonbinding resolution May 20 to halt ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment between the European Union and China. The resolution said CAI ratification discussions have “justifiably been frozen” due to Chinese sanctions in place on the EU in response to Europe's own sanctions on China over its treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang province. The European Parliament wants the sanctions lifted on all 10 European individuals before ratification can continue. The report also mentioned the deteriorating human rights situation in Hong Kong as a cause for European concern with regard to continued relations with China.