European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom
The European Union's detente on tariffs with the United States has not put to rest "profound disagreements" on trade policy, the European commissioner in charge of trade said on Thursday.
U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in July to refrain from imposing car tariffs while the two sides sought to cut other trade barriers, in a move described then by the European Commission chief as major concession.
Speaking to the trade committee of the European Parliament on Thursday, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom discussed a group that she and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will lead to determine how tariffs might be removed on industrial goods.
"We are not negotiating anything, we have a working group. We have profound disagreements with the United States on trade policy," Malmstrom told EU lawmakers.
China's cabinet on Thursday announced new measures to cut costs for companies as policymakers look to support growth amid an escalating trade war with the United States that threatens exporters.The State Council announced tax cuts that should reduce firms' costs by more than 45 billion yuan ($6.59 billion) this year, state radio reported.Beijing is speeding up infrastructure spending and offering help to smaller companies as China's economy cools and U.S. trade tensions intensify.China says its navy chief to visit United States next monthBeijing has pledged to use a more proactive fiscal policy as economic growth slows and firms struggle with tight liquidity and weak demand, due at least in part to a deleveraging campaign meant to reduce risks."Cutting taxes and reducing costs are a key initiatives in implementing active fiscal policy and ensuring a stable economy," said the cabinet.At the meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, the cabinet also decided to increase the rate of export tax rebates for some products, and increased the amount banks can lend to small firms and not have to pay taxes on interest income.Foreign investors also will not have to pay enterprise or value added taxes on interest income earned in the domestic bond market for three years, the cainet decided.Group of US lawmakers urges China sanctions over Xinjiang abusesChina says trade talks with US should be based on 'equality'
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A number of those lawmakers were fierce critics of a planned EU-U.S. Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), negotiations on which ended after Trump's election victory in 2016.
"We are not restarting TTIP ... This could be a more limited trade agreement, focused on tariffs on goods only," Malmstrom said.
She also said the European Union would be willing to reduce its car tariffs to zero, if the United States did the same, going beyond the provisional agreement struck in July which referred only to "non-auto industrial goods".
"We would do it if they do it. That remains to be seen," she said, adding she hoped a deal could be finalised by the end of the Commission's five-year term running until October 31, 2019.
Talks between Canada and the United States are intensifying as the two countries push to hammer out a deal on a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement by a Friday deadline, with both sides upbeat about the progress made so far.Despite some contentious issues still on the table, the increasingly positive tone contrasted with U.S. President Donald Trump's harsh criticism of Canada in recent weeks, raising hopes that the year-long talks will conclude soon with a trilateral agreement.Negotiations entered a crucial phase this week after the United States and Mexico announced a bilateral deal on Monday, paving the way for Canada to rejoin talks to salvage the 24-year-old accord that accounts for over $1 trillion in annual trade.Trump has set a Friday deadline for the three countries to reach an agreement, which would allow Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to sign it before he leaves office at the end of November. Under U.S. law, Trump must wait 90 days before signing the pact.Canada, US set for second day of NAFTA talks amid growing optimismThe U.S. president has warned he could try to proceed with a deal with Mexico alone and levy tariffs on Canadian-made cars if Ottawa does not come on board, although U.S. lawmakers have said ratifying a bilateral deal would not be easy.Negotiators were expected to work through the night ahead of more talks on Thursday morning between Canada's lead negotiator, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed optimism on Wednesday about reaching an agreement by Friday, although much work remains on specific issues.One sticking point for Canada is the U.S. effort to dump the Chapter 19 dispute-resolution mechanism that hinders the United States from pursuing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases. Lighthizer said on Monday that Mexico had agreed to eliminate the mechanism.Trump says 'big deal looking good with Mexico'"I think the Canadian view on Chapter 19 is well known," Freeland told reporters late on Wednesday after a day of talks. "This is a very intense moment in the negotiations. We're trying to get a lot of things done really quickly. I think it will be most effective if we keep our negotiations on specific issues to the negotiating table."Ottawa is also ready to make concessions on Canada's protected dairy market in a bid to save the dispute-settlement system, the Globe and Mail reported on Tuesday. The dairy sector has repeatedly attracted Trump's fury.That compromise is likely to upset Canadian dairy farmers, who have an outsized influence in Canadian politics, with their concentration in the vote-rich provinces of Ontario and Quebec."Ultimately, we've got huge issues that are still to be resolved," said Jerry Dias, head of Canada's influential Unifor labor union. "Either we're going to be trading partners or we're going to fight."
As clock ticks, Canada and US seek ways to salvage NAFTA
The European Union remains at odds with the United States over U.S. blocking of the appointment of judges at the World Trade Organization, over tariffs set for reasons of national security and over Washington's tough stance towards China.
Malmstrom said many U.S. companies and politicians were voicing concerns over goods becoming more expensive in the United States as a result of tariffs.
The European Union shared U.S. criticism of China over industry subsidies, state intervention and forced technology transfers, but believed its approach was wrong, she said.
"We share those concerns, but we do not agree with their methods of imposing massively billions of tariffs on China, as they have also done with Turkey. We do not share U.S. view that trade wars are good and easy to win," the commissioner said.