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A few days of decisive talks with Donald Trump, the EU is ready to "think outside the box" to put an end to trade tensions with the United States, but it is also preparing to tax new American products in case offensive on its cars
The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, will meet the US President in Washington on July 25 with the objective of defusing the trade conflict that threatens to worsen between Europeans and Americans
"We are having a difficult time when we talk about world trade, it's about keeping a multilateral system, resisting the charm of unthinking unilateralism," Juncker acknowledged Thursday at a conference in New York. Madrid. "We have to continue to look for well thought-out trade agreements while respecting our values, our principles," he pleaded.
After punitive tariffs imposed in June on European steel and aluminum, Trump says he is now ready to tax US imports of cars produced in the EU.
"We are going there with the best of intentions", hoping for "de-escalation," insisted Thursday. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, who will accompany Juncker to Washington.
But if the United States executes its threat on cars, which "would be a disaster" according to it, the EU has planned
"We are preparing with the Member States a list of countermeasures and we have made it clear to our American partners," said the Swedish commissioner. been done in the case of steel and
The EU had then prepared a list of iconic American products, such as jeans, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and peanut butter, now heavily taxed, to compensate for 2.8 EUR billion damages to its industry
According to a European source, the list of countermeasures concerning cars is worth a little less than EUR 10 billion
US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross warned on Thursday that mbadive opposition to US car taxes will not prevent the United States from imposing them if they are considered legitimate to protect national security.
"We will continue to respond provocations, "warned Mr. Juncker on Wednesday. "All efforts to divide the Europeans are in vain," he said.
The Luxembourger goes to Washington without a mandate to negotiate on behalf of the member states, but with the intention of "thinking outside the box" for " to find a solution "with the Americans," explained Malmström.
– "Aggressive rhetoric" –
The EU attaches great importance to the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a regular institution contested by the United States.
It also proposes to tackle the problems caused by China, with which the United States is also engaged in a trade war, such as overcapacity in the steel sector or Forced transfers of technology.
In the automotive sector, the idea of a plurilateral agreement bringing together the main producing countries to reduce tariff barriers, a time defended by Germany, was also mentioned. This is an idea among others, "admitted Malmström
Another possibility: to include the automotive sector in a minimum trade agreement with the United States on industrial goods.
The EU is currently imposing 10% tariffs on vehicles imported from the United States, including those manufactured by European manufacturers, while the United States taxes imports of cars by 2.5% and pickups and pickups by 25%
Donald Trump's threat to cars is of particular concern to Germany, where this key sector employs 800,000 people.
"We have seen in the past that these meetings were unpredictable," Malmström admitted on Thursday. the "increasingly aggressive rhetoric" of Americans, which "undermines decades of foreign policy."
Whether NATO, the Iranian nuclear deal or global warming, points of friction are many av Donald Trump, who recently estimated that the EU was an "enemy" of the United States commercially.
He again insurgent Thursday on Twitter against the record fine of 4.34 billion euros imposed by the EU on California Google for abuse of dominant position, hammering that he would tolerate more than Europe "benefits" from the United States.
In addition to trade, Mr. Juncker and Mr. Trump must also talk about foreign policy, counter-terrorism and energy
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