Five MEPs, led by Brando Benifei (S&D, Italian), Chair of the Delegation for relations with the United States, visited Washington last week. There they met US congressmen and congresswomen, both Republicans and Democrats, and tried to convince them of the benefits of transatlantic trade without barriers. For the head of the delegation, Brando Benifei, the players he met - members of Congress and private sector representatives alike - understand what is at stake, but are far from united behind the actions of their President. He talked to Agence Europe about his transatlantic exchanges (Interview by Léa Marchal)
Agence Europe - After this trip, are you reassured about the fact that a deal can be found between the EU and the US to avoid or reduce the different tariffs?
Brando Benifei - My feeling is that the ball is very much in the camp of the Americans, although some of them might think the opposite. The attitude I found by many interlocutors among the legislators and the stakeholders of various kinds, including the business, is that they do not want any fight. And although they might have issues around some - we could call them non-tariff barriers - I found only very little support for the idea that the US really needs this to overcome an unjust imbalance. Some people clearly think that this is a negotiating tactic.
And in general, I have to say that the impression is that they are aware that they need to find a way out (of this situation).
So we have heard the determination to work in this direction. But also we have seen the erratic behaviour of the President, who I hope, will be convinced by the many arguments that will be presented to him.
Donald Trump’s advisor on trade, Kevin Hassett, declared on Monday, that there were a lot of progress in the talks with the EU at the moment, and he mentioned the car industry. Was this a topic that was particularly addressed during your visit?
It came out as an example of an area where we could find some less difficult agreement. Hopefully. At least, we are convinced we can.
Did you notice less and less support among the Republicans for Donald Trump’s actions?
Well, the perception I had is that the general attitude of treating Europe not as an ally, but as a problem, is something that, I felt, is not considered as extremely effective by many involved, including in the Republican camp.
Because we made clear that in Europe today, everything is on the table, including acting on countermeasures regarding digital services, financial services, if there is not the will to find agreements. So I insisted that we will not be bullied. And so they understood that this means that we need to find a deal and then if there is no deal foreseen, then it’s a problem for everyone, not just for the Europeans.
How do potential countermeasures on US digital services weigh in the balance?
People from think tanks, that are studying the relation of the transatlantic relation have been quite aware that this is really on the table for a simple reason: in Europe, the average citizen has an opposite perception than the American lawmaker. The American lawmaker, on average, thinks, with some notable exceptions, that the EU has been protectionist or aggressive against American tech companies. While the average European person, thinks that the EU has been letting big tech do whatever they want.
So, acting on digital services is something that would be extremely popular with people here. And that’s the message we conveyed.
We have been clear that we are ready to negotiate on various topics, but this needs to be done in the context of a mutual understanding of the great advantages that a stronger economic relationship between US and EU has been all this time.
About the EU countermeasures, many critics inside the EU said last week that the European Commission was too soft when it suspended its first set of countermeasures (EUROPE 13619/17), while the initial American tariffs on aluminium are still in place, and a 10% tariff is also applied to all other EU products. How did you perceive this pause?
I think that this suspension was inevitable at this moment. It needs to be considered exactly as it is. It is just the suspension of measures that have been already decided, and this suspension can be revoked if there is no solution. Instead, the measures would be strengthened in terms of a response if there is no willingness to find an agreement.