giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> treasury secretary janet yellen spoke in germany on the importance of u.s.-european economic alliance saying it was critical to maintain stability.

her remarks are about half an hour. >> i remain grateful to the frankfurt school for awarding me this honorary doctorate and today's program and i would like to thank the professors and minister for overwhelmingly kind words. thank you to all of you in the audience today, students, faculty and many others. as the professor described, i began my career as an academic and i greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak to those who were committed to thinking deeply and whose ideas shape policy. and that is the case here. the frank further school has, for decades, focused on putting

ideas into practice such as through your partnership with the united nations environment program. and i understand this is also an institution that very much rooted here in germany is internationally oriented as well with students from five continents and nearly 100 countries. so i'm enormously honored to receive this degree. and i also believe this is a fitting place to speak about a topic aligned with the school's european and global orientation in cutting-edge work, namely the transatlantic alliance. since the start of the biden administration, the transatlantic alliance has delivered for the american people an economy, for europe and for the global economy. and i believe we can have these

issues go further. the issues i'll speak about today from security to sustainable growth, to the shifting global economic landscape are issues where the strength of our alliance matters for americans and europeans' lives today and in the future. the transatlantic alliance has underpinned the post-world war ii order. u.s. and europe share a commitment to democratic values from individual liberty to the rule of law and from our response to the cold war to our response to russia's invasion of ukraine, we have stood up for these values, safe guarding them so that our citizens can live in free associates and realize the benefits that brings. our alliance has been critical to global peace and security.

for decades, its strength has deterred those like otherwise who pursued aggressive action. we at times take this for granted but it's the stability and security that enables us in the u.s., germany and throughout much of europe to live largely without fear of widespread conflict close to home and invest and plan for the future. our strong partnership has also brought tremendous economic benefits, not just indirectly from the security, but directly from trade and investment. the u.s. and e.u. are each other's largest trade and investment partners with two-way trade in goods and services totalling $1.4 trillion and combined foreign investment

totalling over $5 trillion. microsoft investment in germany, spain and the u.k. are one of countless examples. and u.s. exports to the e.u. support nearly two million american jobs. our alliances has had economic impacts far beyond our borders, including through setting up the financial institutions that have played a critical role in supporting macroeconomic stability, alleviating poverty and fueling sustainable growth, transforming countries and lives. put simply, the transatlantic alliance has delivered for americans, europeans and many others. and the united states has been committed to advancing it through multitay laterallism

most notably through g-7, nato and u.s. relations in the e.u. and bilateral relationships between the u.s. and european countries including, of course, germany. the u.s. and europe have taken action at key moments when world events have demanded that we step up and jointly lead. and we have maintained a near constant drumbeat of communication and collaboration that informs daily policy making processes in the u.s. and europe. despite this long and important history, president biden inherited transatlantic alliance that had been threatened and weakened by attacks on the values of nato and rejection of multi laterallism. this turn inward underlines the foundation of stability and

security. it meant missed economic opportunities for american firms and workers and it fails to heed the urgent need for joint leadership to address the global challenges that threaten our collective economic future, such as the covid pandemic and possibility of future global health emergencies and climate change. so, president biden reversed course. he directed us to rebuild relationships with key partners and allies in europe and other parts of the world. in the face of those who still try to fracture our world and unprecedented global challenges, we're building on the transatlantic alliance's history and taking decisive action. let's talk about what was accomplished and what i believe

we should aim for across three key issues. bolstering security, driving sustainable growth and navigating a shifting global economic landscape. i'll start with our joint work to bolster security, which is a prerequisite for growth. we collaborated to bolster security through nato for decades, but our economic collaboration is crucial, too and response to russia's invasion to ukraine is a powerful example. this collaboration started long before the invasion on february 24, 2022. but it tremendously increased in the months leading up to it. when the united states began understanding that russia was considering an invasion, we immediately recognized the possible grave consequences for

ukraine, for europe and for the rest of the world. we knew that russia's role as a major source of europe's oil and natural gas meant an invasion wouldn't just pose a threat to ukraine's territorial integrity but disastrously impact europe's energy markets and lead to economic spillovers. u.s. did what committed partners do in such a situation. we began sharing information. in the months leading up to the potential invasion and minister mentioned this, ministries of finance, central banks and policy makers across the u.s. and european governments pursued unprecedented coordination in

evaluating the financial system and economic channels, forming a shared view of risks and to take whatever action would be necessary. within the first week post-invasion, the united states had sanctioned over 80% of russia's banking sector by assets and the united states and partners had immobilized foreign assets abroad. since then, our global coalition has had additional successes because we placed a premium on collective action across all aspects of our response. take the price cap on russian oil. the u.s. understood the need to disrupt russia's oil revenue, but we saw the market impact in certain restrictions could have. so we worked with our european

counterparts through countless calls, meetings and trips across the atlantic to design and launch a novel tool that leveraged our market share and services key to the oil trade and would constrict russia's revenues while keeping global oil markets stable. because of our careful and joint work, the price cap worked. russia's oil tax revenue was nearly 30% lower in 2023 than in 2022. russia, of course, took action in response to evade the price cap. but we again turned to the power of collective response working jointly to tighten enforcement. this, too, is making progress. energy market participants, analysts and russia's top energy

official have linked our increased enforcement activities to the increased discount on russian oil. the same is true of our sanctions' policy. since february, 2022, the united states has sanctioned over 4,000 individuals and entities as part of our effort to hold russia accountable for its war in ukraine while pursuing an unprecedented level of coordination with the g-7. we have also stood together in providing economic and humanitarian support for ukraine. u.s. and european support packages have bolstered and complemented one another. and this is critical to ukraine sustaining its resistance on the front lines and the home front. let me be clear, it is also

critical for the security of the american and european people. if we stand by as dictators violate territorial integrity and flownt the international rules-based order, they have no reason to stop at their initial targets, they will keep going. russia and its broughtal aggression thinks it can outlast our collective resolve. when the dictator takes action that threaten our people and economy and rules-based order, we will not back down. our countries help and strengthen this order over decades and we will jointly defend it. over the past three years, we have acted jointly to bolster our security in other contexts as well. in the middle east, conflict is

destroying lives and livelihoods across the region and causing head winds to regional economies. treasury has used the economic tools at our disposal issuing 44 rounds of sanctions in connection with iran, again over 400 individuals, entities, tankers and aircraft who support the terrorism, proliferation of drones and missiles and human rights violations. we are hartened our european allies have acted decisively as well including in the wake of iran's attack in april. we have been jointly committed to providing critical humanitarian aid to the palestinians in gaza. investment screening is another area where close collaboration between the u.s. and european

countries has driven crucial investments. since 2021, 22e.u. countries have taken legislative action related to investment screening. all but three are all implementing investment screening reviews. this matters, as our collective national security is greatly enhanced when our partners have and used their own robust investment screening. as we look ahead, the need for collaboration and coordination will only increase. we need to continue cracking down on russian sanctions evasion, including through third parties and sensitive goods that originate in the u.s. and europe. it's also critical that we ensure ukraine has the support it needs to equip its military,

fund critical services and rebuild in the medium to long-term. that's why i believe it is vitally urgent that we collectively find a way forward to unlock the russian sovereign assets to the benefit of ukraine and this will be a key topic of conversation during g-7 meetings this week. in the middle east, we must stay stay in cloudy skies coordination as we take close actions to target iranian regime and its proxies in providing humanitarian aid. with regard to investment security, the u.s. is moving forward with implementing a program addressing the risks related to u.s. out-of-bound investment in sensitive technologies. but again, these risks are not

unique to us and we encourage our partners and allies including european countries to do the same. i applaud those jurisdictions through the publicly announced work on this and the u.s. stands ready to support these and other efforts to safeguard our collective national security. these are just a few examples of what's ahead. all of it will matter for our people and economies. without security, people live in fear and key foundation of the global economy is threatened. with it, we have a key foundation of more prosperous economic lives and global growth. along side bolstering security, the u.s. and europe have been jointly committed to driving sustainable growth, working to advance energy security, global

economic opportunity and progress towards our climate goals. following russia's invasion, the united states responded to the threat to european energy security by increasing l.n.g. exports to the european union with the volume of exports tripling from 2021 to 2023. this inaibles europe to reduce reliance on russian gas while maintaining stability for its people. it brought benefits to the u.s. as the largest supplier of l.n.g. to europe and we showed putin that he had miscalculated. instead of fracturing, our coalition found a path forward. but in the immediate to long-term, the u.s. and europe both know that bolstering energy security will depend on driving

sustainable growth. we need clean energy economies that are less vulnerable to shocks including from geo politics and we need to build these economies in ways that expand economic opportunity. president biden has made this a top priority. at home, the inflation reduction act is fueling investments in manufacturing and clean energy and expanding economic opportunities across the united states. i have had the chance to see this firsthand in my travels, from solar in georgia to the batter built emerging across the midwest and south, we are creating good jobs in american communities that hasn't had historically the economic opportunities they deserve. but the this is not a turn

towards american protectionism. we are not creating jobs just at home. u.s.-e.u. trade exceeded $2 billion in 2022 and european countries can be leaders in this area. the processing of equipment in the factory i visited in much is supplied by germany's central firm and one example of potential opportunities for europe. the u.s. is investing in europe as well, through bill gates' break-through energy. as we produce more in the u.s., we will drive down the cost of globally and benefiting economies around the world. germany has been creating opportunities as well. government policy could drive

demand for renewable energy by putting in place tariffs to solar, to driving community-based wind projects to committing to phase out coal. germany generated more than 50% of its like that for renewables in 2023 and it's a leader in green technology. the frankfurt school's focus on climate is one example of what's happening across europe where higher education institutions have launched around 1,000 new degree programs in renewable energy and energy efficiency. today's students will drive tomorrow's innovation. along side increasing energy security and creating opportunity, our collective efforts are getting us closer to our climate goals.

we are in a new era and response to climate change. for decades the economics and politics of climate action were characterized by a belief that climate change was a textbook case of a twragd. countries were incentivized to exploit natural global resources while people everywhere suffered the costs. but in recent years, there has been a fundamental paradigm shift. the transition to green energy is now increasingly recognized as the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century with an estimated over $3 trillion investment opportunities each year between now and 2050. achieving our climate goals is compatible with increasing energy security and driving growth. as we look ahead, this scope for

more in complementary action which will further these objectives. this is working and we welcome similar action around the world including the european green deal. we should keep working together to improve critical mineral supply chains including through the mineral security partnership and ongoing efforts on the u.s.-e.u. mineral agreement. we should have collaboration to further decarbon niecessation to create investments from our finance agencies and international initiatives to share policies and harmonize climate disclosure. like security, driving sustainable growth matters for americans and europeans making us more resilient and more

prosperous. and it will save us from a dire fate. as are climate increases threatening our lives and livelihoods and our children's futures, we have no choice but to jointly lead. finally, the world has changed tremendously in my lifetime and will continue to evolve. the u.s. and europe are two pillars of the free world. we have together led and adapted through many changes and we must continue to collaborate as we navigate a shifting global economic landscape. this includes our approaches to the peoples republic of china. the u.s. and europe both recognize that china's tremendous rise from representing 3% of the global

economy to 20% means that it will help shape the global economy. guided by president biden, i have worked to put u.s.-china relationship on sure footing for the benefit of people around the world. as i repeatedly emphasized, we do not seek to decoup will. we seek toe diversify. and it was said the same emphasizing the need to derisk. our critical mineral supply chains are currently overconcentrated in china. we saw the danger during the covid pandemic and in the aftermath of russia's invasion. so the united states has pursued an approach i have called french line to deepen economic ties with a wide range of partners

and allies to build resilient supply chains to advance our energy and economic security and engaged directly with china on areas where the u.s. and europe along with many others are concerned by china's actions from its pursuit of economic coercion to macroeconomic imbalancees that are leading to industrial overcapacity. following my trip to china in april where i laid these -- raised these issues with my counterparts, president macron and others have done the same. industrial overcapacity not only poses a threat to firms in the u.s. and europe, it could also prevent countries around the world including emerging markets from building the industries

that could power their growth. lastly last year, the united states announced targeted steps as a result of section 301 review and e.u. and other countries are using their authorities to investigate and consider remedies to china's actions as well. our work to evolve the international financial architecture is our efforts to navigate global shifts. the u.s. and europe built the bretton woods institutions and we now have the responsibility to make sure they are fit for purpose in today's world. this is why i have called to evolve the multi lateral development banks including to address climate challenges and push for reform of the sovereign debt architecture.

our european allies have been essential partners this process which is already bearing fruit. we have launched new initiatives with the g7 such as the partnership for global infrastructure and investment which is mobilizing hundreds of billions of dollars for quality infrastructure and we align 130 countries to endorse a global minimum tax that will end the race to the bottom and support workers around the world. we have been coordinating the face in technological change including the rise of artificial intelligence. many economists believe that ai will bring a significant productivity boost to the global economy. taking advantage of this massive opportunity will might debating the risks will require

coordinated action through the g-7 and u.s.-e.u. technology council even if the exact approaches we pursue differ. that's why international engagement was a core pillar of president biden's executive order on ai. the treasury will work with our allies and partners to further our ongoing work to offer ai on the financial sector and to build semiconductor supply chains is critical to leadership and artificial intelligence. together, we must make sure that the been tits of ai include not just to advance countries but to all countries. as we look ahead, we will look to stay coordinated as we pursue

further work in each of these areas. like bolstering security and driving sustainable growth, navigating these shifts matters for every day americans and europeans. china's industrial policy may seem remote as we sit here in this room, but if we do not respond strategicically and in a united way the viability of businesses in both our countries and around the world could be at risk. support to lower and middle-income countries and to workers around the world is essential for this global economy. artificial intelligence is not yet affected all as pets of our lives but have strategic and coordinated action mean that when it does, it is to our