The EU becomes more optimistic in the trade war with Trump

BrusselsThe trade war initiated by Donald Trump against the European Union fell as a bucket of cold water in BrusselsThe European Commission expected a change of tone in the White House with the return of the Republican, similar to that of the New York magnate's first term, but did not expect Washington's offensive to be so aggressive and that it would dare to threaten tariff increases of up to 20% or constantly attack the European bloc. However, as the days passed, the waters have gradually calmed, and greater optimism was evident at the EU Trade Council meeting this Thursday in Brussels.

The EU trade ministers welcomed the meeting with hope. the United States agreement with China and the United Kingdom, and they see it as a good sign for a potential de-escalation with Washington and Brussels. In fact, this Thursday, the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, announced that he has agreed with the United States to intensify contacts with American authorities in the coming days with the intention of closing a trade agreement and signing a truce in Trump's tariff war.

In this regard, the person in charge of negotiating with the White House explained that this Wednesday he met again with his American counterpart, Howard Lutnick, and that he expects to meet with a representative of the Trump administration in Brussels or at some of the meetings of the Organization (Organ) in the coming days.

In light of these developments, the vast majority of EU trade ministers have closed ranks with Brussels' negotiating strategy, which has prioritized predictability and at all times avoided rushing into a response to the New York magnate. Poland's representative, Michal Baranowski, whose country holds the EU Council presidency this semester, said he was "optimistic" and that the lesson to be learned from Trump's backtracking was that there was no need to "go too fast" with countermeasures.

Along the same lines, Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo affirmed that negotiations to resolve the tariff dispute are "moving" in the right direction and described it as a "good sign" that the European Commission and the White House are intensifying contacts and beginning to "define the scope of the specific areas of negotiation." He even believes that the European Union will benefit from being the last to reach an agreement with the US.

Diplomatic sources admit that the European Union is at the tail end of the list of major powers with which Trump has negotiated a trade agreement. However, they defend the fact that China and the United Kingdom have beaten them to the punch as an advantage, and assert that the European bloc is in no rush to reach an agreement. In fact, the same sources point out that they have extracted "valuable information" from the understandings signed by Beijing and London on how to negotiate with Washington.

However, despite the injection of optimism, the European bloc is preparing for a portion of Trump's tariff increases to remain permanent. In this regard, EU sources point out that the list presented by Brussels last week, which primarily targets agricultural and automotive products, is no longer a simple threat to force the White House to back down, but is now designed to be applied permanently and serve as an effective response to the tax increase.