On 17 April, AmCham EU sent a letter addressed to Commissioner Thierry Breton calling for a coordinated response to the COVID-19 crisis with regard to defining critical sites and infrastructure and maintaining global supply chains.
Our companies operate in a large variety of sectors, many of which are affected by the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Our member companies are facing new challenges as they adapt to the current circumstances. Maintaining a reliable supply of products and services is necessary for European citizens and the economy. Our members believe that clarity is essential to minimise any disruptions in the production and delivery of critical products and services.
In our letter, AmCham EU calls on the European Commission to take all the necessary actions to ensure that global supply chains remain open and to counter any opportunistic protectionism. Moreover, AmCham EU asks that essential services, infrastructure and manufacturing sites all over Europe are kept open. The letter identifies the number of sectors that should be considered as critical and essential.
Read the full letter here.
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AmCham EU has joined over 30 industry associations in calling on EU co-legislators to confirm the repeal of the Substances of Concern In articles as such or in complex objects (Products) (SCIP) database, as proposed in the Environmental Omnibus. SCIP costs companies around €225 million a year, yet its intended users, recyclers, barely use it. The Commission itself acknowledges that waste operators find the data unusable and most companies lack the resources to maintain millions of notifications. Repeal would remove a disproportionate reporting layer while keeping obligations for suppliers to inform customers about substances of very high concern. Any future approach should build on existing obligations, not add new ones.
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From Wednesday, 14 October to Friday, 16 October, AmCham EU visited Vilnius, Lithuania ahead of Lithuania’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The delegation met with Lithuanian policymakers and business representatives to exchange views on EU policy priorities, Europe’s competitiveness and the transatlantic partnership. The visit forms part of AmCham EU’s ongoing engagement with Member States ahead of their Presidency.
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The Dual-Use Regulation gives Europe a common framework for economic security, but divergent national implementation is weakening it. The same transaction can be assessed differently depending on the Member State, with guidance on cloud and software-as-a-service transfers remains unclear. Licensing processes, meanwhile, still assume a physical consignment rather than digital workflows, which sits poorly with how integrated global businesses operate. Companies bear the added cost and legal uncertainty, while the security benefit is limited. A single EU-wide approach to intangible transfers and closer alignment with the US and UK would make controls more predictable and let authorities focus on genuine risks. Read how the revision of the Dual-Use Regulation can deliver a harmonised and future-proof framework for Europe.
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