05 March 2020

EurActiv: Von der Leyen sees ‘momentum’ for improving EU-US relations

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “there might be momentum” for improving the EU’s relationship with the US, but it remained unclear when she will present a trade offer to US President Donald Trump to avoid further tariffs.

Speaking at the BusinessEurope summit, von der Leyen recalled that she had a good meeting with Trump during the Davos forum in January

After that meeting, she said an agreement could be reached “in a few weeks’ time” to improve the bilateral relationship, while the threat of new US tariffs on European exporters is still hanging.

“There might be momentum toward improving our relations on a positive footing,” von der Leyen said on Thursday. 

The offer would improve the bilateral cooperation on trade, energy and technology. But the details of the package and when she intends to travel to Washington to discuss it with Trump remain unclear.

“I am absolutely aware that any deal that we work out must be balanced, compatible with the World Trade Organisation, and compatible with the EU mandate,” von der Leyen said.

As a result, the package is expected to propose scrapping tariffs for industrial goods and ease some regulatory burdens, including the conformity assessment procedure that some goods have to pass.

One of the most controversial issues continues to be the inclusion of agriculture in the trade negotiations.

Washington wants to reduce its €12 billion deficit in agricultural trade exchange, but European partners excluded this chapter from the mandate last year.

One of the issues raised was the possibility of lifting some regulatory barriers (sanitary and phytosanitary measures-SPS) to facilitate the export of some agricultural products.

But the European Commission and member states said that they would not include in this review controversial products such as chlorinated chicken or hormone-treated beef, Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan told reporters in February. [...]

Hogan had said that there was a “window of opportunity” to reach an agreement with the US by 18 March, the date when higher tariffs on European aircraft products will increase from 10% to 15% in the context of the Airbus case. [...]

 

But despite the mild optimism on the European side, the mini-trade package is unlikely to be finalised in time for Hogan’s visit to the US, EU sources said. [...]

Full article on EurActiv

Keynote speech by President von der Leyen at the BusinessEurope Day 2020

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