On Wednesday 27 June, European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said that contact was still "on going" with the White House "to find a suitable date" for Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to visit Washington in order to appease the transatlantic trade tension, particularly on automotives.
"This follows up from the discussions on trade at the G7 summit. President Juncker offered to go to Washington as soon as possible in order to keep communication channels open and to work with President Trump and the US administration on common assessment, notably on the automotive sector, and resolve trade issues in a friendly manner", Schinas stated.
The G7 summit in Charlevoix, Canada, on 8-9 June, accentuated the trade disputes between Europeans and Americans a little further (see EUROPE 12038).
Furthermore, after the entry into force on 22 June of the EU's rebalancing measures in response to the US customs duties on EU steel and aluminium products, Trump has been threatening since 1 June to hit US imports of EU cars with duties of 20%.
At the end of May, Washington started an investigation, under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, into imports of vehicles, including lorries and spare parts, to determine their impact on US national security. Trump said on Tuesday 26 June that this decision was coming closer.
Warning the USA against the risks for the whole global economy of a rise in customs duties on cars, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said on Tuesday that the EU remained ready to discuss an agreement restricted to tariff liberalisation on industrial products, including cars and spare parts (see EUROPE 12049).
The European leaders, who will review the situation at the European Council on 28-29 June, had agreed on a four-point plan on 17 May to improve the transatlantic trade environment. The plan included tariff talks for these industrial products, and a reform of the WTO – but it was conditional on the EU having a permanent exemption from the US steel and aluminium duties (see EUROPE 12022). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)