By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The European Union is ready to react to any renewed commerce tensions with the US that will emerge underneath President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration, the EU’s ambassador to the U.S., Jovita Neliupšienė, mentioned on Friday.
Neliupšienė, chatting with reporters throughout a press briefing, declined to debate attainable retaliatory measures that Brussels might impose to answer Trump’s vow to impose tariffs of 10%-20% on all U.S. imports.
She mentioned the U.S. is an important commerce companion for the EU, with $1.7 trillion in two-way items and companies commerce, and $5 trillion in two-way funding. She added that there are alternatives for the 2 sides to cooperate in additional areas, together with power and different sectors.
“However in fact, you realize, as in each household, there are generally tensions,” she mentioned. “If there are some new frictions for the commerce, the European Union can be prepared, really, to react to that.”
Europe has quite a bit to lose if Trump imposes international tariffs. The 27-country EU exported $576.3 billion value of products, almost 20% of its whole exports, to the U.S. in 2023, for a items commerce surplus of $208.6 billion, in line with U.S. Census Bureau information.
Trump warned throughout his election marketing campaign that Europe will “pay a giant value” for not shopping for sufficient U.S. exports, together with American vehicles and farm merchandise, whereas People purchase “tens of millions and tens of millions” of European made automobiles.
Conscious of the threats to struggling EU economies together with auto producers Germany and Italy, the European Fee is seeking to discover methods to do enterprise with Trump corresponding to importing extra U.S. liquefied .
Neliupšienė mentioned the EU has assembled information on its deep commerce hyperlinks to U.S. states and that she has been making regional journeys to advertise commerce ties throughout her first 12 months because the EU’s ambassador in Washington, which began Jan. 1.
Requested whether or not renewed commerce tensions within the U.S. may threaten a 2021 U.S.-EU truce of their 17-year commerce battle over plane subsidies to Airbus and Boeing (NYSE:), Neliupšienė mentioned she didn’t see any curiosity on the EU aspect for letting that occur.
The 2 sides agreed in June 2021 to droop punitive duties in opposition to one another in parallel World Commerce Group dispute instances for 5 years, till June 2026, whereas they work on an settlement on plane subsidies geared toward limiting China’s state assist of its business plane business.
The way forward for the Boeing-Airbus truce is “very a lot so within the fingers of the U.S.,” Neliupšienė mentioned.
