The Body describes the meeting with the U.S. Trade Representative as "constructive."

WashingtonIn just over a week, Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo met again with his US counterparts to continue tariff talks. Last Wednesday, the meeting was with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and this time with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. As he had done after the meeting with Bessent, Cuerpo positively assessed the meeting, describing it as "constructive."

The Spanish Economy Minister reiterated that both the EU and the United States "have a willingness to reach an agreement and do so within the 90-day framework we have given ourselves to negotiate." This is the partial tariff truce that Washington has granted to other countries—with the exception of China—and has reduced the tariffs to 10% from the 20% planned for the EU. According to Cuerpo after the meeting, "there have been specific demands from the United States regarding what they expect," although he did not explain what those demands are.

"We both express our desire to protect and strengthen the transatlantic relationship, the most important in the world," the Spanish minister wrote.l in a post on X. Upon leaving the meeting with Bessent, Cuerpo also insisted on the need to continue offering dialogue in the United States, while Bessent's response was a brief statement in which, among other things, he demanded that Spain reach 2% of its military defense spending.

Last Thursday, Trump assured Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that "there will be a trade agreement" with the European Union. Even so, the president has continued his aggressive and contemptuous tone toward Europe, accusing the EU of having been created to "annoy" the United States.

The tone Trump is now using in negotiations with China is very different. From the Oval Office, the president assured reporters on Wednesday that in "a couple of weeks" he would set a new figure for taxes on Chinese imports. The Wall Street Journal exclusively reported that the Trump administration is considering cutting current tariffs on the Asian giant by up to half.

In recent days, the Trump administration, which announced tariffs of up to 245% on some Chinese products, has been moderating its tone in an attempt to de-escalate the trade war. On Wednesday, Bessent acknowledged in a talk with JP Morgan that a confrontation is not "sustainable" tariffs like the current one with Beijing. "China will be a difficult battle in terms of negotiations," acknowledged the Treasury Secretary. Every time the Trump administration has increased the pressure on the Chinese, they have responded with similar measures.

China already warned this Tuesday that they will only be open to dialogue with the United States if the White House lowers its tone and stops using threats.

Cuerpo's visit to the US capital this Thursday is part of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Yesterday, Cuerpo boasted that Spain "is the only advanced economy" that has improved the IMF's growth outlook.