International-News

Trump: ‘EU tough but smart on tariffs. Negotiate with them as one bloc’

The US president relaunches the trade offensive: ‘The EU was created to take advantage of us’. But opens up dialogue with Xi Jinping: ‘We will find an agreement with China’

US President Donald Trump called the European Union’s decision to suspend retaliatory tariffs against Washington ‘very tough’ but also ‘very smart’. Speaking to the press after a meeting of his cabinet, Trump stressed how Brussels was ready to act, but chose to wait in light of the measures already taken by the US against China and other trading partners.

‘The EU was smart,’ he said, ‘they were ready to strike, but they saw what we did with China. They did well to wait.’ The US president made it clear that any negotiations on tariffs would be conducted with the EU ‘as one bloc’ and not with individual member states.

There was no shortage, however, of new attacks on Europe: ‘The EU was formed to take advantage of the United States. I don’t blame them, but the American presidents who let them do it. It is time to rebalance the table’.

On the Chinese front, Trump expressed optimism, reiterating his personal relationship with President Xi Jinping: ‘I respect him very much. He is a friend and I believe we will find a positive solution for both of us’. The president recalled that the tariffs imposed on China have reached 145%, but expressed confidence that the trade war can end with a fair agreement.

Trump finally acknowledged that his policies entail a ‘transition cost’ for the US economy, but stressed that ‘in the end it will be a beautiful thing’. Wall Street meanwhile closed lower, affected by tensions with Beijing, while the European stock exchanges and Piazza Affari rose.

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