U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo visited Astrobotic Technology's North Side headquarters Thursday to mark the conclusion of the inaugural U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council meetings in Pittsburgh, of which she and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai were co-chairs.
Following a tour of the space robotics company's facility, Raimondo remarked that her two European counterparts, European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager and European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, left the city with a greater appreciation for all that Pittsburgh, and the U.S. at large, has to offer when it comes to technology and innovation.
"I think we open their eyes to all that's going on in Pittsburgh. They left blown away by what they saw, they left convinced, and by the way, me, too," Raimondo said. "When everyone comes to Pittsburgh and sees it, it's not just one robotics company, it's not just that CMU is here. It's a vibrant and deep ecosystem of technology innovation, and both of my counterparts and their whole teams left believers in what's going on here in Pittsburgh."
During the two-day summit, the U.S. and European dignitaries and their respective teams visited the developments taking place at Hazelwood Green, toured autonomous vehicle company Argo AI's headquarters in the Strip District and held several roundtable discussions covering topics like clean tech and energy solutions.
"I will tell you, having spent a couple of days here, I'm a believer. I'm a believer in how unbelievably innovative, productive and leading-edge that Pittsburgh is," Raimondo said. "There's a hub of innovation here, which is real, which is growing, and in which Pittsburgh is a leader."
Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto, who joined Raimondo on the tour of Astrobotic's headquarters, said that the very work being done by Astrobotic is an example of how different innovative companies can have a ripple effect of progress and success for others in the region.
"We often think of different types of resources that have lent themselves to the legacy industries of our city — robotics that have helped in mining, robotics that have helped in agriculture — and we often don't think in ways of other industries and other places in the world, like space, where we can lead in the future," Peduto said. "It's important to understand that it's not only where we sit today, but it's the hundreds of companies that are part of the supply chain of Astrobotic that will help to rebuild all of southwestern Pennsylvania."
Raimondo said she challenged her European counterparts to hold the next TTC in the Pittsburgh of Europe.
First announced in June 2021, the TTC has several main goals including expanding and deepening bilateral trade and investment; finding ways to avoid new technical barriers to trade; cooperating on key technology policies, digital issues and supply chains; and promoting innovation and leadership by E.U. and U.S. firms, among others. It is composed of 10 groups that cover topics such as climate and clean technology, data governance, technology misuse and global trade challenges.
A TTC joint statement put out by the White House on Sept. 29 outlining some of the agreements reached during the group's meetings can be found here.
Astrobotic Technology CEO John Thornton will speak at VisionPittsburgh on Nov. 4. To attend, click here.
