“We see this trip as an occasion to assess and discuss the common challenges the EU and the U.S. face when it comes to trade policy. To establish some common ground and agree a way forward to deal with these”, said a Commission spokesperson on Monday 13 January on the first official visit of EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan in his new role – and on his first trip outside the EU.
Mr Hogan is therefore giving himself until Thursday 16 January to “refresh and invigorate” the transatlantic relationship and reassure his American partner of Europe’s commitment to the parties’ “positive” agenda.
Meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, as well as with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross are among the high-level meetings on his Washington agenda.
Mr Hogan will also meet with members of the Senate and Congress, with whom he hopes to raise awareness of European priorities.
These include identifying a way out of the tensions surrounding the French ‘GAFA’ tax and its possible commercial repercussions (see EUROPE 12398/6). The ongoing bilateral negotiations, the Airbus dispute – as a new consultation to revise the list and amounts of fares already imposed on the EU (see EUROPE 12392/18) comes to a close – but also the reform of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the challenge by China will be addressed by the European representative in order to “identify common ground and, hopefully, potential solutions” to these issues, according to the spokesman.
While in Washington, Commissioner Hogan will also meet the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and several business leaders. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)