Trump gives Europe a choice: Trade deal or tariffs
donsurber.blogspot.com
President Donald John Trump is a very sane genius. He looked at the list of America's trading partners, and one by one he is cutting new deals with them.
So far, he has new deals with Canada, Mexico, Red China, Japan, and South Korea. Once Great Britain leaves the EU, he will cut a deal with them. In the meantime, the president is working on a new trade deal with the rest of Europe.
His pattern is the same. Slap tariffs, promise more, and cut a deal. Tariffs are a two-by-four that gets their attention. With Red China, he has not ended his original tariffs as he instead told them to cut a first stage deal or face even steeper tariffs.
In Davos, the president reiterated his call for the EU to negotiate or face tariffs of 25% on European-built cars sold in the United States.
CNBC reported, "Trump angered the EU in 2018 by not excluding the bloc from tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
"In October, the World Trade Organization cleared the way for the U.S. to put tariffs on $7.5 billion in goods from the EU. The organization ruled that the EU provided unfair subsidies to plane manufacturer Airbus."
President Trump's team is hanging tough as it negotiates with EUcrats. He told The Wall Street Journal, "They know that I’m going to put tariffs on them if they don’t make a deal that’s a fair deal."
Slapping a 25% tax on European cars hits Merkel hardest. 8 of the 10 most popular European imports are German.
She needs a deal. He doesn't. |
