Still No EU/U.S. Trade Talks a Year Later

Politico said it’s been almost a year since the U.S. and the European Union struck a temporary truce in transatlantic trade tensions. However, there seems to be little left in the new phase of trade relations as no trade talks have started.

EU trade boss Cecilia Malmstrom has said the U.S. will likely slap retaliatory tariffs on $25 billion worth of European imports. It’s part of a dispute that began because of airline subsidies. Washington D.C. has also started an investigation into a digital services tax in France. Several EU officials are also warning that President Trump will soon carry out a longstanding threat to impose auto tariffs, possibly as soon as November.

The EU Commission’s second-highest ranking trade official were in D.C. for meetings with Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeff Gerrish and other key players in the Washington trade community. Earlier this year, Trump had agreed to hold off on his plan to impose new tariffs on European Union imports while the two sides worked to avoid a full-blown trade war. In announcing the cease-fire, the two sides said they had agreed to remove all non-auto tariffs, increase cooperation on energy purchases, as well as work together to help reform the World Trade Organization.

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