Trump Blasts EU Ahead Of Meeting With EU’s Juncker

President Trump will meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the White House today. The meeting is part of EU efforts to convince Trump against raising tariffs on imported EU cars.
But today’s visit did not stop Trump from blasting the EU, during a speech to veterans in Kansas City.
In a sign of what might be, Trump described the EU as “terrible”. He repeated his accusations that the U.S. was unfairly losing billions of dollars to the trading bloc.
“These countries have been ripping us off for decades,” he blasted. “What the EU is doing is terrible.”
Note that the EU contains some of the closest allies of the United States. These include France, Germany and the United Kingdom. But under President Trump, US trade policy can be summarized as America First, Second and Third.
So Much At Stake
The Juncker trip is extremely important to the EU. EU car sales to the US rake in billions of dollars. The sales also provide significant employment for EU countries.
The European car federation states that the US is the No. 1 buyer of EU-built cars. Figures cited amount to almost 30 percent of the total EU export value. The EU accounts for 25% of U.S. car imports.
If Trump imposes a 25 percent tariff on imports of cars, trucks and auto parts, it “risks dragging us all down to a game of tit for tat retaliations that ultimately leave consumers in the U.S. as well as in Europe worse off,” said Professor Alexander Mattelaer of the Egmont Institute think tank.
In the same Kansas City speech, Mr Trump announced a $12 billion aid package for American farmers hit by the ongoing trade war with China. This suggests that Mr Trump doesn’t see too much risk in going down the same route with the EU.
Mr Juncker would need to summon all his persuasive powers to be able to move Trump at this meeting.