The EU has announced it is ready to start trade talks with the US whenever Washington wishes to do so.
Trade talks between the two parties had a rocky start when Donald Trump was elected as president of the USA, but now the EU is ready to restart them at once. The announcement was made on Monday 15 April by the European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom.
Trade disputes between the US and EU started shortly after Trump withdrew the US from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in 2016.
Since then both sides couldn’t find common ground. The US imposed tariffs on EU steel and aluminium that Brussels called “unacceptable” and breaching WTO rules. After a meeting between Trump and Jean-Claude Junker in 2018 it was agreed the parties should restart trade talks.
However, Trump has threaten to impose $11bn of tariffs on EU goods as the WTO ruled against EU subsidies for Airbus.
The EU and the US will have to find a way to agree on many things, including free access to the US market for EU cars and free access for US farmers in Europe.
#Trump #tradetalks #EU
