Donald Trump announces the trade truce with Europe. After the poisonous tweets of recent days in which he defined the EU as "an enemy of the US", the American President seizes the opportunity of the summit with Jean Claude Juncker to build a media success under the banner of a "turning point" in international relations. With the due differences, the number one in the White House therefore follows the same pattern already experimented with the President of the European Commission with Russian President Vladimir Putin e with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
“Today is a great day, we launched a new phase in trade relations between the USA and Europe – said Trump after the three-hour meeting with Juncker – The goal is to zero tariffs, zero non-tariff trade barriers and zero subsidies on industrial goods that are not cars".
Great to be back on track with the European Union. This was a big day for free and fair trade!
- Donald J. Trump (@ realDonaldTrump) July 26 2018
Satisfaction also for Juncker, who succeeded where German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron had failed: "I came here to find an agreement and we found it".
Le tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed in early June by the United States will be reviewed. In exchange, the EU undertakes to buy more soybeans - in order to compensate for the American losses caused by the tug of war with China - and more American liquefied natural gas.
European Union representatives told me that they would start buying soybeans from our great farmers immediately. Also, they will be buying vast amounts of LNG!
- Donald J. Trump (@ realDonaldTrump) July 26 2018
The protectionist escalation threatened between the two sides of the Atlantic in recent weeks therefore seems to have been averted.
According to Trump, however, the agreement does not include cars. According to the European Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmstroem, who accompanied Juncker to Washington, if the United States were to implement the threatened protectionist measures on the import of cars from the European Union, the latter would respond with punitive tariffs on around 20 billion dollars of products made in the USA.
However, plans for new US tariffs of 25% by the end of the year on cars and components imported from the EU will remain frozen at least until negotiations are underway for a complete revision of the WTO rules.
