Trump and Von der Leyen to Connect at Opportune Time Once EU-US Trade Agreement is Finalized
The old man and the president are eyeing a sit-down soon, once they've got their trade issues sorted. That's right, it seems that Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump are planning to get together for a chat, but only when the tariffs are squared away and ready to sign. The European Commission spilled the beans about the potential meet-up during the pope's funeral, where the leaders allegedly had a quick chat.
Before this encounter at the Vatican, the Commission president hadn't spoken a word with Trump since he was back in the White House. But the old fox, Trump, has already welcomed other EU leaders like Giorgia Meloni and Micheál Martin in the Oval Office.
As of now, there's no firm date set for their get-together. "There's no date yet," Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho said Monday. "But there was interest expressed. The right moment for it will be when there's a package to be agreed upon at the level of the two presidents."
This package is meant to cover "a number of issues," primarily tariffs, which are currently being hashed out at the technical level, Pinho explained. The Commission's mission is to push the talks forward, flesh them out, and create a specific agreement that von der Leyen and Trump can sign. No details about a potential location have been dished out yet.
"When the time is right to discuss and sign an agreement at the highest level between the United States and the European Union, that will be the perfect time to meet," the spokesperson stated.
Trump's tariffs have targeted nearly every nation on the planet. The EU, a powerhouse of exports, was blasted with a 20% tariff rate, a figure that officials in Brussels called "neither credible nor justified." The White House also imposed a steep 25% duty on steel, aluminum, vehicles, and threatened semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
After a stock market crisis and a surge in U.S. bond yields, Trump made a U-turn, agreeing to suspend his self-proclaimed "reciprocal tariffs" for 90 days. As a result, the 20% levy was dropped to 10%, while the 25% duty remained. Von der Leyen responded by putting the brakes on the first wave of EU countermeasures, which were aimed at €21 billion of American-made products, also for 90 days.
"We want to give negotiations a chance," she said earlier this month, repeating her offer for a "zero-for-zero" tariff deal on all industrial goods.
In the Dark
While Brussels keeps talking to the White House, the Commission, which decides the bloc's commercial policy, remains in the dark about Trump's ultimate goal and what concessions might sway him. Officials believe the Republican is struggling to decide between balancing trade relationships, generating new revenue through duties, and promoting re-industrialization.
Trump has signaled his willingness to chat with other nations and strike "fair" deals, but he's adamant about standing his ground and defending his disruptive policy. Making things even more complicated is the White House's insistence that "non-tariff barriers" be part of the deal, pointing a finger at value-added tax (VAT), food safety standards, and Big Tech regulations.
Brussels argues that these issues aren't related to trade flows and shouldn't even be part of the deal. The idea of the EU distancing itself from China to appease Trump is off the table. Scott Bessent, the US Secretary of the Treasury, described the tariff chaos as "strategic uncertainty" and urged countries to remove all trade barriers.
"You're not going to tell the person on the other side of the negotiation where you're going to end up, and nobody is better at creating this leverage than President Trump," Bessent told ABC over the weekend. "He's shown the high tariffs, and here's the stick. This is where the tariffs can go. And the carrot is, come to us. Take off your tariffs. Take off your non-tariff trade barriers. Stop manipulating your currency. Stop subsidizing labor and capital, and then we can talk."
- The Commission's mission is to push the talks forward, flesh them out, and create a specific agreement that von der Leyen and Trump can sign, though the details about a potential location have yet to be disclosed.
- The European Commission, deciding the bloc's commercial policy, remains in the dark about Trump's ultimate goal and what concessions might sway him, as the Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has agreed to suspend the EU's countermeasures for 90 days.
- The Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has offered a "zero-for-zero" tariff deal on all industrial goods, yet there's still no clarity about Trump's underlying aims and what he might be willing to concede.
- In a chat with ABC, the US Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, described the tariff chaos as "strategic uncertainty" and urged countries to remove all trade barriers, adding that Trump is skilled at creating leverage during negotiations.
