WASHINGTON/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and the European Union’s chief executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, both expressed a desire on Wednesday to cut tariffs and ease trade transatlantic trade tensions as a high-stakes White House meeting got underway.
Trump, speaking to reporters with Juncker seated next to him in the Oval Office, said “hopefully we can work something out” on fairer trade with Europe.
“If we could have no tariffs and no barriers and no subsidies, the United States would be extremely pleased,” Trump said.
“We have many countries where they have massive barriers and they have massive tariffs, and we have to follow. You could call it retaliation. But I’d rather just say that we want reciprocal. So whether it’s with European Union or others, it has to be reciprocal in nature at a minimum,” Trump added.
Juncker, the European Commission’s president, said of the EU and United States, which represent half the world’s trade: “We are close partners, allies - not enemies. We have to work together.”
“I think that we have to talk each to another, not at another,” Juncker added.
Trade experts expressed hope that the Trump-Juncker meeting could help stave off Trump’s plans for a 25 percent U.S. tariff on imported cars and automotive parts and start a process for U.S. allies to begin reducing automotive tariffs.
“I think that we should focus on reducing tariffs instead of increasing tariffs. That’s what we have to do,” Juncker added.
The European Commission’s trade commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, said she was drawing up a $20 billion list of U.S. goods to hit with retaliatory duties should Washington impose tariffs on imported cares.
“We hope that it doesn’t come to that and that we can find a solution. If not,
