The European Union buckled under pressure of the rising trade war with the United States and Pres. Donald J. Trump scored a big league concessions win.
The president has torn into EU leaders and NATO members about taking advantage of American generosity. The so-called allies refuse to pay their agreed upon share for the own national defense under NATO. On the backside, these “friends” have been waging a tariff war on U.S. goods.
At home the left-leaning media has raged against Pres. Trump, claiming he would drag down the U.S. economy, stifle the surging GDP, and alienate traditional partners. In a bravado lost on the weak-kneed Obama Administration, Pres. Trump hit back at the EU with tariffs. Despite all the bluster and rhetoric from EU officials, the United States re-established the economic supremacy it lost under Obama.
During the not-so-quiet negotiations with EU policymakers, Pres. Trump confronted the misleading positions from EU leaders such as Germany’s Angela Merkel. The EU has long claimed they engage in free trade. The fact the 28-member economic bloc taxes American imports at an excessively high rate did not appear in the group’s long-standing propaganda. It was almost ironic hearing the EU cry foul when Pres. Trump imposed reciprocal American tariffs on steel and aluminum. “We did everything to avoid this outcome,” EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström reportedly said. At the time, Malmström called the U.S. tariffs “a bad day for world trade.” “This is protectionism, pure and simple,” European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker reportedly said. On the home front, Pres. Trump resisted a backlash from Washington insiders who had grown accustomed to American submission. Believing the U.S. could no longer lead from the front or set fair and reciprocal trade, even Republicans ran scared. “Europe, Canada, and Mexico are not China, and you don’t treat allies the same way you treat opponents,” Nebraska Sen. Sen. Ben Sasse reportedly said. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee Chairman that oversees trade, claimed that “tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are a tax hike on Americans and will have damaging consequences for consumers, manufacturers and workers.” “I don’t like trade wars,” Sen. Hatch reportedly said. “There are no winners in trade wars. There are only losers. And this scares me.” In all fairness to the skittish Washington insiders, the White House has not been managed by a self-made billionaire with a team of economic powerhouses in our lifetime. Backed by financially savvy cabinet members such a Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Pres. Trump enjoys an all-star team that overshadows other nations. While the EU’s officials stated in no uncertain terms they would not negotiate on trade under threat of tariffs, Sec. Ross disagreed. “I’m sure we will, and there can be negotiations with or without tariffs in place,” Ross reportedly said. “God knows, there are plenty of tariffs the EU has on us. So, it’s not that you can’t talk just because there are tariffs.” Not only did the EU show that their words are but empty rhetoric, they completely caved into Trump’s dream team of economic advisors. The same EU commission chief who puffed out his chest and said he would go toe-to-toe with Pres. Trump in a trade war didn’t just walk back those remarks — Jean-Claude Juncker offered concessions on America’s terms. The recent deal includes the EU working toward “zero tariffs” and “zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods.” The EU chief also reportedly offered Pres. Trump multiple good faith options to stave off America going all-in by tariffing every EU import. The president has also let China know that day will be coming soon unless a fair, free trade agreement is reached. “We want to further strengthen this trade relationship. We agreed today to work together toward zero tariffs, zero non-tariffs barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods,” Pres. Trump said. “We will also work to reduce barriers and increase trade in services, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical products, as well as soybeans. The European Union is going to start almost immediately to buy a lot of soybeans.” The beauty of Pres. Trump agreeing to this particular pathway is that it opens the door for American farmers to sell soybeans and other agricultural goods to Europe. Soybeans were perhaps the only significant trade war card China held as that economic showdown escalates. Not only did Pres. Trump earn a huge win by the EU agreeing to lower tariffs on American imports with a “zero” goal, he put American farmers in the driver seat. Just as the Heartland braced for a shortfall, the president and his team delivered perhaps the biggest economic win in decades. The recent round of trade skirmishes — whether on trade or nuclear weapons — demonstrate that the United States has regained its foreign policy strength. ~ Liberty PlanetTrump Earned Dramatic Gains With EU Win
