On the first anniversary of the joint statement by Presidents Trump and Juncker, Sabine Weyand, the EU's new Director-General for Trade, shared her assessment of the transatlantic trade relationship. In an interview posted online by the European Delegation in Washington on Tuesday 23 July, she was finally sceptical about the prospects for an amicable settlement on Airbus/Boeing disputes.
Before her services published a progress report on the EU-US relationship on 25 July, Ms Weyand said there were "good stories to tell" about the relationship, citing soya and LNG imports, ongoing work on conformity assessment and cooperation standards (see EUROPE 12071/2).
As for the strategic partnership for the development of global standards in new areas, it is in the interest of the EU and the United States to be "sure that these standards correspond to our interest and that we remain the global standard setters", the senior European official said.
Another axis of transatlantic cooperation is the strengthening of the multilateral system, in partnership with Washington and Tokyo, through new disciplines on Chinese subsidies, intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers.
According to Mrs Weyand, "the China communication in April was in a way a bit of a turning point, showed a more assertive attitude and more recognition that China is a systemic rival", in response to criticism from the United States, which considered the EU's attitude towards Beijing too timid.
As for the limited tariff negotiations, the issue of agriculture was "obviously" discussed at her meetings in Washington. Mrs Weyand highlighted a problem of balancing the interests of the EU and the United States and called on the United States to move forward "with what we have on the table".
On reciprocal sanctions (aluminium and steel) or threats of sanctions (cars), Mrs Weyand wants to study with her partners how to dismantle existing measures (see EUROPE 12264/17). But "we are not making concession under threat", she warned.
Airbus/Boeing disputes
The resolution of this long-standing dispute was a key objective of the visit of the new Director-General (see EUROPE 12302/24). In the face of "rampant" competition, the EU has proposed parameters for future disciplines for the large civil aircraft manufacturers sector, as part of a negotiated solution that is not shared by Washington.
The Americans "are waiting for the award, given by the WTO arbitrator, and then intend to move forward with the imposition of sanctions", the Commission's Director-General lamented.
Implementation of free trade agreements.
"There are also negative consequences" to trade agreements, Mrs Weyand admitted. "We have to work much more in partnership in member states and earlier on", who are primarily responsible for the implementation of these treaties and have the tools to facilitate transitions.
And to welcome the idea of the next President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to appoint a Chief Trade Enforcement Officer (see EUROPE 12298/24) who gives "more visibility and mobilisation of the necessary political attention". (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)