US President Joe Biden (left) and France's President Emmanuel Macron speak at the start of the G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall on June 11, 2021. Photo: AFP

US President Joe Biden will use this week's inaugural technology ministerial with the European Union to push for solutions to the nagging semiconductor supply issue that has hit the American economy, officials said Monday.

The chip shortage due to manufacturing snags has had a massive impact on the US economy, hindering auto production and driving prices higher.

"The semiconductor shortage has been a top priority for the president and for his economic and national security teams," a senior administration official told reporters, adding that the White House has been "working overtime" to address the situation.

In fact the White House last week held its third meeting with semiconductor industry executives to try to ease the current chip crunch as well as to work on longer term solutions.

But the official said "It has also been a top priority of Europe," and the ministerial meeting will offer an opportunity "to continue building our partnership with the EU on semiconductors," with a focus on "near-term disruptions" as well as longer term supply reliability issues.

The high-level meeting in Pittsburgh was one result of Biden's summit in June as part of the effort to get the battered trans-Atlantic relationship back on track after various trade disputes under former president Donald Trump, notably over steel and aluminum trade, created friction. "The Trade and Technology Council is a platform to continue strengthening our trans-Atlantic trade and economic relationships. This year we have worked to reengage with our European allies," another official said.

The meeting has multiple tracks, from climate to artificial intelligence to digital security.

However, the US officials also say the talks will focus on addressing "our shared challenges in China and other non-market economies" over "trade-distortive policies and practices."

The talks will be led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and on the European side by EU Executive Vice Presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis.

In a speech earlier Monday, Dombrovskis also raised the need to take joint action on China, but seemed to point to a broader, more multilateral approach rather than an EU-US effort. "We equally share concerns about the urgent need to address unfair trade practices emanating from non-market economies," he said.

But he called for a joint effort to strengthen the World Trade Organization which was not designed to deal with issues such as force-technology transfers, "aggressive industrial policies" and "massive industrial subsidies."

Dombrovskis was in Washington meeting with senior officials ahead of the tech summit, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday and USTR Tai on Tuesday.