> a positive trade balance is the only thing it's interested in
At this point I think that's still far too generous, as opposed to real interests of People Grovel At My Feet, slightly tempered by I Stay Rich.
Consider this (further) unhinged meltdown earlier today:
> Yesterday, China issued Retaliatory Tariffs of 34% [...] despite my warning that any country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs [...] will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs [...] if China does not withdraw its 34% increase [...] by tomorrow [...] the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50% [...] Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!
The administration (i.e. Trump) thinks that negotiation means taking extreme and hostile positions, then waiting for others to try to make concessions to deescalate. Holding a gun to the world's economy (ours included) in return for something he can show off as a win is very much in line with his philosophy of "deals".
Actually achieving stated aims though? Ahhh, not so much, talk is cheap for him.
> The U.S. and EU came close to scrapping industrial tariffs a decade ago in their discussions of the TTIP — the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership — that was ultimately scuppered by Trump in his first term.
Ha ha ha. Sigh.
> The EU charges average tariffs of just 1.6 percent on U.S. non-agricultural products, on a trade-weighted basis. But it does charge a higher tariff of 10 percent on imported American cars — although the U.S. is the only G7 country that still pays it because TTIP wasn’t concluded.
Ditto.
> Von der Leyen also did not rule out retaliation: “We are also prepared to respond through countermeasures and defend our interests,” she said.
Yeah.
I've read on other sources that some of the EU officials commenting on this emphasize that it's not some new offer, but was already a point for negotiation before Trump's big event last Tuesday, though it's being framed in headlines as if it's new.
