Trump, the EU Juncker agree to ease trade tensions



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US President Donald Trump and the head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, agreed Wednesday on a plan to defuse the trade dispute between the two major economies

. with a threat to impose tariffs on automobiles, which would hurt the dominant German car industry.

The two – who met for more than two hours of negotiations at the White House – also said that they would work to "resolve" "We want to further strengthen this trade relationship for the benefit of all US citizens and European, "said Trump in a statement to the following address:" We want to further strengthen these trade relations for the benefit of all US and European citizens. " the Rose Garden White House.

The result seemed to be a victory for Trump, who had badured his supporters that his conflicting business strategy would bear fruit, and which seems to have conceded little in discussions with the leaders agreed to "launch a new phase" in the relationship and "working together toward zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-automotive industrial goods," said Trump

. ] In addition, the EU is committed to buying soy and natural gas in the United States.

Mr. Juncker, who had been somewhat defiant before the meeting, later stated: "I had the intention of concluding a deal today and we have entered into a contract today. "

However, the agreement was conditional" on the condition that, as long as we negotiate … we will maintain other tariffs, and we will reevaluate the existing tariffs on it. 39, steel and aluminum ".

While EU officials had threatened immediate retaliation against auto tariffs, and that they would not negotiate with Washington under duress, they seemed to have decided to appease the irascible leader United States

"Congratulations to @JunckerEU, @realDonaldTrump: Breakthrough achieved that avoids trade war and saves millions of jobs! German Minister of Economy Peter Altmaier said on Twitter after the negotiations

WTO reform

Trump also won a pledge to work together to reform the World Trade Organization to address some of its complaints of US technology , the behavior of state-owned enterprises and overcapacity in steel.

He has long complained that the WTO has been unfair to the United States, although the United States has won most disputes against China and others

 EU-US Trade (AFP)

The United States and the EU account for about 1 trillion dollars in transatlantic trade, and tensions sparked Wednesday's high-level talks.

European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, who accompanied Juncker, praised the agreement and said on Twitter that she "will work hard to move this work forward in the coming months".

The details and mechanisms remain to work out, and Juncker impeccable said that the EU already imports 35% of its natural gas from US producers, but that it will work to buy some more.

"We are ready to invest in infrastructure and new terminals, which could accommodate energy imports from the United States and elsewhere, but mainly from the United States, if the conditions were favorable and prices competitive, "he said in a speech after the White House meetings

. its aggressive approach works, consumers, farmers and businesses feel the pain of the retaliatory measures imposed to counter US tariffs on steel, aluminum and the tens of billions of dollars of Chinese products put into place in recent weeks. 19659002] Brussels fought back against metal tariffs, imposing punitive duties on more than $ 3 billion worth of US goods, including blue jeans, bourbon and motorcycles, as well as orange juice, rice and corn. The main target of Trump's trade offensive – also fought back with high tariffs on US products and filed complaints against Washington at the WTO.

While the United States claims the retaliation was "illegal," the Trump administration acknowledged the WTO's chief executive, Roberto Azevedo, said Wednesday that he hoped to "stop this trend "to increasing restrictions on trade.

A new WTO report showed that world trade covered by import restriction measures reached $ 84.5 billion in May, compared to $ 79 billion in October, with 75 new shares imposed during this period.

"We are going in the wrong direction, and we seem to be accelerating, growth, jobs and recovery are at stake," warned Azevedo

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