“It’s not good enough. Donald Trump handily brushed aside Thursday the proposal of the EU Trade Commissioner on the elimination of customs duties for car imports between Europe and the United States.
Speaking to the European Parliament on Thursday, Cecila Malmaström said the EU is ready to cut tariffs “to zero” if the US does the same. An important concession, while the car was left out in the framework of the agreement between Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Trump, at the end of July.
The two sides, however, did not despair of reaching an agreement and pledged not to impose new tariffs on the importation of vehicles during the negotiations. A reason for relief for European car manufacturers, while Donald Trump was waving at the end of June the specter of a customs tariff of 20% on imports of foreign vehicles.
A fragile trade truce
But the negotiations now seem to be dead point. “Their consumption habits are to buy their cars, not ours,” said Donald Trump in an interview for Bloomberg on Thursday night.
The American president was, more generally, very against the European Union. It’s “almost as bad as China, just smaller,” the Republican swept away. Denouncing in turn European monetary policy – waving the specter of manipulation of the euro – and legislation on agricultural products.
This bloodshed raises fears of an escalation of the trade conflict between the United States and Europe. And again, barely a month after the conclusion of a commercial truce between the two economic areas, the inconstancy and unpredictability of the American president.