EU Looks Past Trump to Defuse Transatlantic Trade Conflict

  • The European Union is working on a proposal for the incoming Biden administration on a new trade relationship, including settling a longstanding aircraft dispute that has seen the allies impose tariffs on $11.5Bn of each other’s exports, according to people familiar with the matter.
  • The proposal from the European Commission, the bloc’s executive, would seek to cover the broader trade relationship with the U.S., not just the aircraft dispute, one of the people said. The commission did not respond to a request for comment.
  • The move comes as the EU prepares to move past the presidency of Donald Trump, a period when transatlantic relations plumbed new lows. Over the past four years, the two sides have threatened punitive trade actions over issues from digital taxes to steel imports, while the U.S. has undercut key European priorities like the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Iran nuclear accord.

(Source: Bloomberg