Trump, Juncker voice desire to reduce tariffs, trade tensions



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  Trump, Juncker Voices Desire to Reduce Tariffs, Trade Tensions

By David Shepardson and Johan Ahlander

WASHINGTON / STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump and the Director General of the European Union Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday expressed his desire to reduce tariffs and ease transatlantic trade tensions at the White House meeting.

Trump, speaking to reporters with Juncker sitting next to him in the oval office, said "we can work" If we could not have tariffs, no barriers and no subsidies, the United States would be extremely satisfied, "he said.

" We have many countries where we have to follow the barriers and impose mbadive tariffs, which we could call retaliation, but I would rather simply say that we want reciprocity, whether with the European Union or with others, there has to be a minimum of reciprocity. "Trump added Juncker, president of the European Commission, said about the EU and the United States, which account for half of world trade:" We are close partners, allies, not enemies. We must work together. "

" I think we need to talk to each other, not to another, "Juncker said.

Trade experts expressed hope that the Trump-Juncker meeting could help defeat Trump's plans. a 25% US tariff on imported cars and auto parts; and a process for US allies to begin lowering auto rates.

"I think we should focus on reducing rates rather than increasing rates. Cecilia Malmstrom, the European Commission's trade commissioner, said she is compiling a $ 20 billion list of US goods that should be retaliated if Washington imposes tariffs on imports.

"We hope that this will not happen and that we can find a solution, if it is not the case, the European Commission is preparing a long list of many American products," said Wednesday Swedish President Dagens Nyheter at Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter: "I think President Juncker thinks he's there to try to calm the situation – a process to stave off potential US auto tariffs. they would have no idea how this meeting will or will not go, "said Heather Conley, vice president of European affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think tank on Washington's foreign policy.

million. Trump said on Twitter that "tariffs are the highest" because they pushed trading partners to negotiate with the United States. During a meeting with Trump, Mr. Juncker will attend a larger meeting with representatives of the Trump Cabinet and, later in the day, will speak at an event organized by CSIS

AUTO TARIFFS

Trump intends to impose rates of up to 25% on imported cars and parts, despite almost unanimous opposition from the automotive industry and the deep concern of members of Congress.

The Trump administration in May an investigation to determine whether imported vehicles and parts pose a threat to national security. Trump said that he would quickly charge rates of 20 or 25%.

Several automotive industry officials said they believed this national security investigation was intended to persuade Mexico, Canada, Japan, and the EU to make concessions.

The Ministry of Commerce may recommend new tariffs as early as September, officials said in the US administration

. The Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday that it had made no decision and that it was planning to complete the investigation "in a few months".

In response to the EU has already imposed its own import duties on 2.8 billion euros ($ 3.3 billion) of US goods, including products like the bourbon and motorcycles that are made in some of the constituencies that supported Trump in the 2016 US elections.

The Commission informed EU countries last week of the bloc's possible response to auto tariffs, saying that she could touch 9 billion euros of US goods. EU sources

However, some EU diplomats said the commission also planned to double that amount – at the level suggested by Malmstrom – to half the rate of duty.

The European Commission, which manages the trade policy of the 28 EU member states, insisted that Juncker seeks to open a dialogue with Trump, rather than negotiate. European officials have also downplayed the idea that Juncker is coming up with a new commercial offer

($ 1 = 0.8551 euros)

(Report by David Shepardson and Johan Ahlander, written by David Lawder at WASHINGTON and Philip Blenkinsop in BRUSSELS, edited by Larry King and Will Dunham)

This story was not edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by self-feeding.

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