EU's Juncker 'upbeat and relaxed' ahead of Trump trade meeting
Reuters
Published Jul 18, 2018 10:53AM ET
EU's Juncker 'upbeat and relaxed' ahead of Trump trade meeting
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he was "upbeat and relaxed" ahead of his trip to Washington next week to discuss strained trade relations between the European Union and the United States.
Juncker is due meet U.S. President Donald Trump on July 25 with a clear focus on trade after the United States imposed tariffs on EU steel and aluminum and Trump's repeated threats to extend those measures to European cars.
Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said he expected Juncker to come with a "significant" trade offer.
However, EU officials have sought to lower expectations about what Juncker can achieve and downplayed suggestions that he will arrive with a novel plan to restore good relations.
The bloc previously offered to open its markets wider to U.S. imports, including cars, as part of a reciprocal but limited trade deal, but Washington rebuffed the proposal.
Juncker told a news conference on Wednesday he was "upbeat and relaxed" at the prospect of next week's meeting, but said the European Union would not be intimidated.
"We will continue to react tit-for-tat to the provocations that might be thrown at us," he said.
Juncker has been outspoken in his criticism of Trump's decision to impose trade tariffs and last month told lawmakers that Trump had called him a "brutal killer" at a Group of Seven meeting in Canada.
Junker said he would seek again to explain to Trump that the European Commission coordinates trade policy for the 28-country European Union and that the United States could therefore not forge a trade deal with just one of its members.
"When it comes to trade, the European Union, its internal market, its single market, form an indivisible unity and it's the Commission that is in charge of articulating trade policy. All efforts to divide the European Union are in vain," Juncker said.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.