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EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom meets U.S Trade
Representative Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday in Washington for
talks on opening up their markets, the European Commission said.
Trump agreed in July not to impose tariffs on EU car imports
while the two sides explored ways to boost trade including a
possible deal to remove tariffs on non-auto industrial goods.
The U.S. president, who described the July deal with Commission
President Jean-Claude Juncker as a win for U.S. soya bean
farmers, told Reuters last month that auto tariffs were still an
option if talks did not go well.
The Commission, which negotiates trade deals for the 28-nation
EU, said on Monday the July agreement led to a 112 percent rise
in U.S. soya bean imports in the second half of 2018. The U.S.
share of the EU market is now about 75 percent.
The increase has been driven by a slide in the U.S. soya bean
price, which slid after China imposed higher tariffs on U.S.
beans in its trade row with Washington, rather than because of
any concerted action by the EU, analysts said.
The Commission also said U.S. soya bean imports were likely to
rise further after it began a process to allow the use of U.S.
soya beans for biofuels in Europe.
Malmstrom will also take part in a U.S.-EU-Japan meeting on
Wednesday. The three nations will discuss subsidies made to
state-owned firms and forced technology transfers. China is the
clear target of those talks.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Edmund Blair)
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