The European Union’s chief trade negotiator urged President Donald Trump to stop imposing tariffs on the bloc if he wants a partner to help the U.S. pressure China to abide by rules governing the global economy.
In an interview in Washington, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said she and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer have had productive meetings on how to address Chinese industrial policies and reform the World Trade Organization. While both sides agree on problems, they quarrel over the solution.
“We have a problem: China is dumping the market, China is subsidizing their industry, this creates global distortions. We can agree on that. So what is the solution? Well, we think it is to cooperate on China,” Malmstrom told Bloomberg News in an interview in Washington. “The solution to these problems is not imposing tariffs on the European Union. Why is that so hard to understand?”