Team Trump is tightening the screws on Brussels in trade talks

In every negotiation there are different interests and differences of opinion. This was also the case on Monday in Brussels. But the trade talks between the United States and the European Union reveal a much larger and deeper gaping hole. Even in their way of doing politics and negotiating, politicians on both sides are now miles apart.

For example, it is completely normal for Howard Lutnick, trade secretary in the Trump administration, to re-question old agreements and add new demands to his wish list. The European Union, he said on Monday during a visit to Brussels, must first relax its digital rules if it wants to talk about easing the high import duties that the White House has been applying to European steel products since this spring.

The fact that the US and the EU made agreements this summer in which the steel tariffs were reluctantly accepted by European negotiators, after which the Americans immediately classified hundreds of additional products as ‘steel-derived goods’, is of no importance to Lutnick. The American government simply has a strong negotiating position and wants to get rid of European tech rules, which mainly affect large (and therefore American) tech companies.

Those who have power do not have to accept the old rules of the game. And so Lutnick continues to push, in line with his president’s transactional negotiating method. He doesn’t just do it privately, during a lunch session with ministers from the 27 EU countries and the European Commissioner. He repeats his tough demands, without mincing his words, to the press.

“I hope (…) that the Europeans will set up regulations that we feel comfortable with,” Lutnick says. “And then we can start talking about steel and aluminum and come up with a list and a model that works well, very well for the European Union.”

Rulebook

Opposed to this power politics is the classic European approach: searching for a common position, for a compromise, with the rule book in hand. When Maros Sefcovic, with sixteen years of experience as European Commissioner, certainly not an inexperienced politician, addresses the press afterwards, he reads his words from a piece of paper. He doesn’t want to say a word wrong.

Before the start of the meeting, Sefcovic had already listed in the same place how many American goods European governments are currently purchasing: 200 billion euros in American liquid gas, 40 billion in American chips – and more investments will follow, he promises. In this summer’s deal, the EU promised to purchase a total of 750 billion worth of energy from the US, although analysts consider that amount to be practically unattainable.

Lutnick does not need any papers to tell his story. “This summer’s agreement is fundamental,” he says with a grin. “It’s the beginning of a building. A living, breathing deal between two big, big economies, the big economies on earth. So let’s finish the job, let’s solidify the foundation and let’s get started.”

This summer’s agreement is fundamental

This world of difference is indicative of the gap between the EU and the US. The deal that US President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen concluded this summer on Trump’s golf course in Scotland was not a usual trade agreement, but a document full of loose ends.

Later that summer, another joint statement followed, which brought some relief, but also raised new questions. For example, European companies are faced with unexpected extra costs and administrative burden due to the White House’s pushback with products that are suddenly classified under the steel category, such as cutlery and canned food products.

In the meantime, the Americans continue to impose new levies: for example, Italian pasta brands recently faced import tariffs of more than 100 percent. And producers of spirits, wine, ceramics and many other products are still hoping for an exception.

Joint front

The lunch meeting in Brussels with the two highest-ranking US trade representatives, Lutnick and trade representative Jamieson Greer, was therefore seen as an essential moment to defuse tensions. For most ministers it was the first time that they came face to face with their American colleagues.

In order to form a common front, the Europeans had coordinated their strategy in advance. Together they had drawn up a list of sectors and products that should be given priority in the search for exceptions and agreements. Sefcovic presented that list on behalf of the entire bloc.

Lutnick and Greer didn’t flinch. They first want the EU to relax its tech rules before further talks about lower tariffs for Europeans can begin, they reiterated.

Cutting digital regulations was not the only demand the American duo made, Minister of Foreign Trade Aukje de Vries (VVD) said afterwards. The pair had also once again urged the weakening of the so-called European anti-viewing law and the anti-forest felling law. “They have mentioned all the regulatory matters,” said De Vries.

“They connect everything together,” sighs a diplomat from another EU country. In recent months, the White House has increasingly used strong language to put pressure on Europe to revise climate policy, tech rules and other unwelcome EU regulations.

Over the past year, the EU has already started working on climate and technology, under pressure from its own governments and European businesses. These interventions are now being presented to the US as steps in the right direction. However, Lutnick and Greer gave the impression that these steps do not go far enough for them.

In an interview with Fox News Lutnick added another demand: Lutnick must also give heed to the European ban on petrol cars, which should come into effect in 2035 but is under heavy fire. That would be good not only for American car makers, but also for the Europeans themselves. “They need to think more about how to take care of themselves,” Lutnick said. “And we do our best to make them understand that.”

Then, seriously: “I think the best way we can all contribute is by building better cooperation together.”

Next to him, Howard Lutnick’s eyes narrowed at the sound of Rasmussen’s joke. He threw back his head and roared with laughter.

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