European Union Seeking Trade Reconciliation With Washington

Credit: European Parliament – Europa EU

The EU’s new trade commissioner, Phil Hogan, has said he will seek a reset to transatlantic trade relations.

Several touchy issues have cast a chill over trade relations between the US and EU, which Hogan will be discussing with his US counterpart when they meet next month.

The trade war between the US and China has gotten most of the spotlight when it comes to trade news. However, the Trump administration has also placed tariffs on European steel and aluminum. Those tariffs were put in place back in the middle of 2018, and the EU responded with its own tariffs on US imports into the continental bloc. The two sides have also remained locked in a decades-long dispute over European subsidies for Airbus, which the US alleges represent an unfair advantage for the European plane maker. More recently the US and EU have clashed over a new “digital tax” applied by France, which the US alleges is just an unfair targeting of American tech companies with an international presence.

Hogan spoke with US trade representative Robert Lighthizer before Christmas to discuss these issues. The two have now arranged a time in mid-January to discuss the historical and current trade concerns between the US and EU. “We agreed to meet in Washington in mid-January to discuss the long list of issues causing strain in the relationship between the EU and the US. There is no point in getting into the details of resolving trade irritants unless we agree a line on a common trade agenda,” said Hogan.

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