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Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation Michael Link to visit the United States
Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation Michael Link issued the following statement today (2 December) prior to his departure for the United States, where he will visit New York, Philadelphia, Trenton and Washington, DC:
Next year is an important election year in both Europe and the United States. The foreign-policy and geopolitical challenges we are together facing as transatlantic partners are bigger than ever. To meet these challenges, we will have to work even more closely together in the future. That’s why it is vital that we further strengthen our contacts in Congress and expand relations with the states. In my talks on the Hill and with the Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, I want to help do just that.
During this trip, I will be discussing not only foreign-policy topics, but also two economic issues.
On the one hand, I hope to give impetus to the dialogue on vocational education and training. My previous visits to various states in the US have shown that, partly as a result of the major skills shortage in the country, there is real interest in our model of dual vocational training. We have already launched many successful initiatives in this area, but the potential could be even better used by broadening and intensifying our dialogue.
And on the other, I want to address the state of trade talks between the US and the EU. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) continues to treat Europe like a third country, as the Critical Minerals Agreement (CMA) has not yet been concluded. There is also too little movement on steel and aluminium tariffs. I would like us to work together on creative solutions and to help bring the talks to a positive conclusion as quickly as possible.
Background information:
On Saturday, 2 December, Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation Michael Link will travel first to New York, where he will hold talks with the Goethe-Institut, members of St Paul’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church, and representatives of civil society.
In Philadelphia, in the evening of 5 December, he will meet civil-society representatives, politicians and businesspeople, and in the morning of 4 December he will address the Eric M. Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany on the subject of the challenges facing German foreign policy. He will then travel to Trenton, New Jersey, for a meeting with Governor Philip Murphy.
His programme in Washington, DC (4-6 December) will be dominated by political talks with members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. On the executive side, Link will be discussing vocational education and training with representatives of the Department of State, the Department of Education and the Department of Labor. He will also look at this issue in a separate meeting with the Chamber of Commerce Abroad and representatives of German companies. In addition, he will be talking to representatives of the US Trade Representative and the Department of State about the status of trade relations between Europe and America. Meetings are also planned at the National Security Council and with think tanks.