United States and European Union (EU) have decided to tone down the trade war, that was unleashed when President Donald Trump announced that Washington will impose tariffs on imports from the EU.
Great meeting on Trade today with @JunckerEU and representatives of the European Union. We have come to a very strong understanding and are all believers in no tariffs, no barriers and no subsidies. Work on documents has already started and the process is moving…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2018
On Wednesday the two agreed to start negotiations on “zero” tariff, barriers, and subsidies on non-industrial goods’. Earlier this month, Trump threatened to start a trade war with EU by imposing tariff on steel and aluminum. He also threatened to impose tariff on imported cars, trucks and auto parts whose total imports account for $335 billion.
Great to be back on track with the European Union. This was a big day for free and fair trade!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2018
Trump and Jean-Claude Junker, the president of European Union announced that EU has agreed to buy soybeans from the US farmers and increase the imports of liquefied gas from US.
European Union representatives told me that they would start buying soybeans from our great farmers immediately. Also, they will be buying vast amounts of LNG!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2018
Trump earlier faced a lot of criticism from both Republicans and Democrats because of the impact tariff had on soybean exporters, pork exporters and other exporters.
Earlier in the week, Trump announced $12 billion subsidies for farmers, though lawmakers and Republicans criticized the plan as welfare of farmers will better off if tariff threats to Europe and China were waived off.
Trump said that both EU and US have started a “new phase” of their relationship. Junker called it “as a constructive meeting” and agreed to reduce retaliatory tariffs. It is an important development as it puts fears of a trade war between the US and EU, which together account for half of the world’s GDP, on the backburner. Both Trump and Junker agreed to work together to remove industrial tariff, including of steel and aluminium.
“We met today…to launch a new phase in the relationship between the U.S. & the EU – a phase of close friendship, of strong trade relations in which both of us will win, of working better together for global security & prosperity, & of fighting jointly against terrorism.” @POTUS pic.twitter.com/WvV41tIsxh
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@Scavino45) July 25, 2018