29 EU Ambassadors Pen Open Letter Criticizing Trump Tariffs

Twenty-nine European Union ambassadors to the US penned an open letter to the nation criticizing President Donald Trump's trade policies.

News ID: 70612

Date: 09 June 2018 - 14:40

TEHRAN (Defapress)- The letter, which comes after Trump imposed steep aluminum and steel tariffs on the EU and other trade allies, focuses on the trade and investment relationship between the EU and the US — a relationship the ambassadors say “other countries can only dream of”, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

“Simply put, the EU invests more in the United States, buys more American services and employs more American workers than the other way around,” the letter stated, adding that “as a ready comparison: 45 of 50 US states export more to the EU than they do to China. And what of China’s foreign direct investment into the United States? It’s around one-hundredth that of Europe’s”.

“But, as with any partnership,” the letter continued, noting that “the prospect of unilateral action by one side, to the detriment of the other partner, places the entire mutually beneficial relationship at risk”.

The ambassadors went on to call Trump’s new tariffs on imports a significant step in a “protectionist direction” and concluded by calling for the two economies to “focus on what benefits us both”.

“Together we should tackle intellectual property theft and look at how we can further reduce red tape, regulatory barriers and tariffs between us — facilitating innovation and investment, to the mutual benefit of business and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic,” the letter concluded, noting that “this, not tariffs and quotas, would be moving in the right direction”.

Trump announced tariffs late last month in efforts to balance out what he has deemed to be unfair trade arrangements with various countries. The move has since angered leaders in Europe, Canada and Mexico, and has prompted retaliatory threats on US goods.

The EU and Canada have also filed cases at the World Trade Organization against the US

The letter comes on the day of the Group of 7 (G-7) summit amid heightened conflict between Trump and other G-7 members over the tariffs and following Trump's suggestion that Russia be reinstated into the group.

“Whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run,” Trump said early Friday morning, adding that “and in the G-7, which used be the G-8, they threw Russia out. They should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table”.

A day before Trump's call for Russia to join economic talks, French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a sharp remark to Trump, saying the remaining six countries of the G-7 "don’t mind being six, if needs be".

“The six countries of the G-7 without the United States, are a bigger market taken together than the American market," Macron said during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday, adding that “there will be no world hegemony if we know how to organize ourselves. And we don’t want there to be one".

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