President Trump: Time for 'very serious' trade talks with EU

President Trump spoke at the White House on February 10 (local time), affirming that it is time to negotiate trade with the EU. Photo: AFP

At an event at the White House attended by state governors, the US President said: “Europe has been treating us very badly.”

After reaching a series of trade deals with Canada, Mexico and Japan, along with a phase one deal with China, Trump said: “The next thing could be Europe, where we’ll be talking to them very seriously.”

Relations between the two major economies have been in a tense “truce” for months. Mr. Trump has imposed punitive tariffs on EU goods such as French wine in disputes over steel imports, government subsidies for Airbus and taxes on tech giants such as Google and Amazon.

But so far, the White House chief has been “suspending” punitive tariffs, such as those threatened on European cars, in an attempt to force a change in trade policy. Trump reached a “ceasefire” with the EU in mid-2018, when the parties agreed to pursue negotiations – but these talks have yet to produce any concrete results.

Trump said he was focused first on the dispute with China and renegotiating the continental free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico because he “didn’t want to deal with the whole world at one time.”

“Ready to make a deal”

But on February 10, Mr. Trump once again reiterated his complaints about the EU's trade policy, even asserting that perhaps the economic bloc was "really set up so that they could treat us badly."

“They have incredible barriers. They are ready to make a deal,” he said.

The US leader has made a concerted effort to reduce the country's trade deficit with the EU, which reached $178 billion last year, excluding services where US companies have an advantage.

While Washington and Brussels have agreed to pursue an ambitious deal to remove trade barriers and cut tariffs, few details have emerged from the few meetings. And a major sticking point remains: the EU has yet to agree on covering agricultural goods.

EU leaders were surprised last month when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced after a meeting with Trump that she expected to sign a deal “within weeks.”

She insisted the deal would be a “new direction” from the previous attempt at a transatlantic trade deal announced in 2017.

EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan made a surprise visit to Washington last month to meet his US counterpart Robert Lighthizer, following another meeting the previous month. An EU spokesperson confirmed the meetings were “part of regular bilateral contacts” between the EU and the US “to achieve a positive bilateral transatlantic trade agenda”, but did not provide further details.