US President Trump said that the European Union was trading America “very unfairly” and warned that many of his problems with the bloc “may morph into something very big”. “The European Union has treated the United States very unfairly when it came to trade,” he said in an interview for the British ITV channel. “I’ve had a lot of problems with (the) European Union, and it may morph into something very big from that standpoint — from a trade standpoint.”
At the World Economic Forum that has just concluded in Davos, Switzerland, Donald Trump shared his vision for and optimism in the American economy – “America is open for business”. He also said that his mantra did not mean “America alone” and he hinted that the US could reconsider its role in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. However, earlier in January, the Trump administration had imposed tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines and last year he had vowed to impose almost 300% punitive tariffs on airplanes made by Canada’s bombardier.
EU and US investments are the real driver of the transatlantic ties, contributing to economic growth and job creation on both sides of the Atlantic. Donald Trump specifically said that American companies were having a hard time to get their products in the EU while European companies send their products to the US without any or with very little taxes. “But the European Union has been very, very unfair to the United States. And I think it will turn out to be very much to their detriment.”
It is estimated that a third of the trade across the ocean is attributable to intra-company transfers. Total US investment in the EU is three times higher than in all of Asia and EU investment in the US is around eight times the amount of EU investment in India and China together. US trade in goods and services with the EU totaled almost $1.1 trillion in 2016. Exports totaled $501 billion while imports totaled $592 billion. The US goods and services trade deficit with the EU was $92 billion in 2016.
