Jean-Claude Juncker
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will not arrive in the United States for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump with a specific trade offer, the Commission said on Monday.
Juncker will travel to Washington on Wednesday for talks focused on trade tensions after the U.S. imposition of tariffs on EU steel and aluminium and Trump's threats to extend those measures to European cars.
Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, has said he expected Juncker to come with a "significant" trade offer, but the Commission on Monday that would not happen.
"I do not wish to enter into a discussion about mandates, offers because there are no offers. This is a discussion, it is a dialogue and it is an opportunity to talk and to stay engaged in dialogue," Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a news conference.
Britain's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Monday there was a risk of Britain crashing out of the European Union without a deal if EU negotiators waited too long for London to blink in Brexit negotiations.On his first foreign visit after being appointed last week following his predecessor Boris Johnson's resignation, Hunt said in Berlin that Germany was "one of Britain's best friends in the world" and they shared a commitment to a "rules-based international order".He also said the British public would blame Brussels in the event of a chaotic EU exit, which would shape its attitudes towards the EU "for a generation".Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Germany wanted to see an orderly Brexit.UK's Brexit plans useful, but questions remain: BarnierEU reaction to UK Brexit white paper lukewarm: Irish Minister
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Trump has repeatedly complained about the European Union, pointing to the higher duties it applies for car imports and describing the bloc as a "foe" in trade.
EU officials have said that, while EU import duties for cars are heavier than those of the United States, for other products, such as trucks, U.S. rates are higher. They also say cutting duties for cars could only be part of a broader trade deal.
European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, who will accompany Juncker, said last week that the European Union was preparing a list of U.S. products to hit if the United States imposed tariffs on EU cars.
Schinas said Juncker was "very prepared" to set out European arguments.
"This is an occasion to de-dramatise any potential tensions around trade and to engage in an open and constructive dialogue with our American partners," he said.