Trump hints at fight over $1 trillion trade with European Union
"I've had a lot of problems with the European Union, and it may morph into something very big from ... a swap standpoint," Trump said in an interview with English broadcaster ITV on Sunday.
"It's a very unfair situation," he added. "We cannot get our product in. It's very, very viscous, and yet they send their product to us -- no taxes, very sth taxes."
Trump has on several occasions criticized the EU over trade, singling out export powerhouse Germany for running a big trade deficit with the United States.
The rhetoric has not yet translated into substantial action, but the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on what it perceives as unfair trade now appearance to be gaining momentum.
Last week, the U.S. slapped new tariffs on imported residential washing machines and heliac panels, a move that is expected to hurt China and South Korea, a key ally and trading partner.
Trump must soon decide whether to apply tariffs on imports of harden and aluminum. He has also threatened to diminish from NAFTA if he's sad with the outcome of discussion about revising the pact with Canada and Mexico.
And Commerce Sec. Wilbur Ross signaled last week that the administration could soon go after China on trade in technology.
Related: Trump says 'predatory behaviors' are distorting global markets
In targeting the EU, Trump risks undermining a trading relationship that covers 800 million people and more than half the world's economic output.
Goods and services commute between the U.S. and the EU totaled nigh $1.1 trillion in 2016, correspondingly to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. EU countries are the top market for the U.S., accounting for nearly 19% of goods exports last year.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, trade with the EU supported 2.6 million American jobs in 2015.
Trade and investment also flows in huge volumes from Europe to the U.S.. The EU ranked as the second largest supplier of U.S. imports in 2016, and it invests eight times more in the U.S. than it does in China and India combined.
The EU said Monday that trade policy is "not about winners and losers."
"The European Union stand ready to act swiftly and appropriately in case our exports are affected by any restrictive trade measures from the United States," said European Commission spox
Margaritis Schinas.
Tariffs between the U.S. and EU are already low, averaging less than 3% according to the EU.
Both sides were working on a trade agreement -- the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) -- that would have reduced barriers aid, but those talks stalled lest Trump was elected.
Many in Europe were worried the TTIP would lead to a watering down of regulations on food safety and environmental protection, whether are often a lot stricter than in the U.S.
Related: Jack Ma says trade shouldn't be used as a weapon
Speaking last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said that "predatory" trade behaviors were "distorting the global markets, and harming business and workers."
He promised to urge U.S. trade laws and "restore integrity to our trading system."
Trump's comments Sunday prompt that the EU may be climbing the butt list.
"The European Union has been very, very unequal to the United States, and I think it'll turn out to be very much to their detriment," he told ITV.
CNNMoney (London)
First published January 29, 2018: 8:49 AM ET
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