Trust Is the Strategic Advantage in a Fragmenting Tech World
By members of the Trusted Tech Alliance
At a moment of heightened geopolitical tension and rapid technological change, likeminded partners across the globe face a choice. We can allow political friction and its consequences to fragment the digital ecosystem that underpins our shared prosperity and security. Or we can commit to a pragmatic way forward through partnership and openness – recognizing that shifting geopolitical realities require new solutions.
The Members of the Trusted Tech Alliance believe the response lies in a trusted technology stack built by likeminded companies from likeminded countries, anchored in shared values.
For decades, transatlantic and indeed global cooperation has been one of the most powerful engines of global growth and innovation. Economic ties between Europe and the United States are deep and mutually reinforcing: roughly 10 million Americans work for European companies or in roles tied directly to Europe. Europe, meanwhile, is the largest market for the American technology sector outside the US itself. Within semiconductors, Taiwan and South Korea manufacture more than half of all chips made globally while leveraging designs and equipment from Japan, the US and Europe. These are not abstract statistics. They reflect millions of jobs, thousands of supply chains, and a dense web of trusted commercial relationships that support research, resilience, and long‑term investment globally.
The same logic applies with equal force across the Indo-Pacific and the broader relationship between Europe and Asia. Frameworks such as the US-Japan Competitiveness and Resilience (CoRe) Partnership and the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) reflect a growing recognition that trusted supply chains, joint research, and aligned technology standards must extend well beyond any single region. Collaboration across these corridors ensures that no single chokepoint can disrupt the flow of critical technologies, and that the standards shaping artificial intelligence, data governance, and secure connectivity reflect the values of open, cooperative societies.
Yet today, that trust is under strain.
These strains are not limited to the transatlantic relationship. Around the world, competing regulatory approaches, opaque market barriers, and uncertainty around trusted supply chains are weakening confidence and slowing investment. Disputes over digital competition rules, the prospect of retaliatory trade measures, and sharp rhetoric on all sides have created uncertainty for businesses and policymakers alike. An escalating cycle of distrust risks undermining investment, slowing innovation, and weakening the very alliances that have supported economic growth and collective security for generations.
Technology is now inseparable from national security, economic competitiveness, and democratic resilience. In fields such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and trusted infrastructure. No single country or region can succeed alone.
This is why the Trusted Tech Alliance was founded around five core principles that we believe are foundational in the current geopolitical environment.
For technology companies operating at global scale and the customers they serve, predictability matters. So does fairness. So does the ability to build secure, interoperable systems that span jurisdictions without being pulled apart by conflicting rules or politicized market barriers. These are prerequisites for continued investment in advanced technologies, skills, and infrastructure across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Global South.
More broadly, global technology relationships have implications well beyond the countries in which our members are headquartered. At a time when other models of digital governance are being actively promoted elsewhere, nations with shared values have a ready opportunity to demonstrate that openness, innovation, and accountability can coexist. A trusted tech stack – built and governed by companies rooted in shared values – can set global benchmarks for privacy, security, resiliency, and ethical innovation.
As governments develop frameworks to expand and enable access to secure digital infrastructure and services, the approach taken to defining “trusted” or “sovereign” technology will determine whether these frameworks attract global investment or fragment the market. A principles-based approach to trusted technology, grounded in verifiable safeguards, serves competitiveness and security far better than purely nationality-based criteria, which reduce resilience by limiting access to global innovation.
Against this backdrop, we welcome recent signals from both Washington and Brussels for a renewed commitment to engagement. The indication that the United States and the European Union are prepared to enter into a structured dialogue to address areas of disagreement points to a constructive path forward. Using such a dialogue to clarify and overcome misinterpretations is equally important.
None of this will be easy. Differences in legal traditions, regulatory philosophies, and political priorities are real. But they are not insurmountable – provided there is goodwill, openness, and a recognition of what is at stake. Global alignment on technology policy is not a technocratic exercise. It is a strategic imperative.
For lawmakers and regulators, this means resisting the temptation to treat technology policy as a zero‑sum contest. It means prioritizing dialogue over escalation, evidence over rhetoric, and long‑term trust over short‑term leverage. For industry, it means continuing to invest in security, transparency, and responsible innovation; it means working together, even when it may be challenging for governments to do the same.
The Trusted Tech Alliance stands ready to contribute to this effort. Our members operate across borders, support millions of jobs, and invest heavily in the technologies that will define the next generation of economic growth and security.
The TTA will continue working with business stakeholders on both sides of the Atlantic to advocate for a stable and predictable transatlantic regulatory environment.
At the same time, TTA will engage to promote confidence‑building measures that resolve disputes without unnecessary trade or economic disruptions.
Likeminded countries have achieved extraordinary things by acting together –things no single nation could accomplish alone. At a time of global uncertainty, we should reaffirm our shared principles, and choose cooperation.
Trust is not just a value. It is our most enduring competitive advantage.
Our principles
- Transparent Corporate Governance and Ethical Conduct
- Operational Transparency, Secure Development, and Independent Assessment
- Robust Supply Chain and Security Oversight
- Open, Cooperative, Inclusive, and Resilient Digital Ecosystem
- Respect for the Rule of Law and Data Protection
Participating organizations
