U.S. senator's trade advice to EU: Keep calm and put agriculture on the table

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration would face resistance from the U.S. Congress if it tried to push through a mini trade deal with the European Union that did not include agriculture, U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said on Wednesday.

In an interview with Reuters, Grassley, a Republican from the farm state of Iowa, said he saw a chance of getting some results in negotiations with the European Union under the leadership of its new trade commissioner, Phil Hogan.

He said Washington would be willing to negotiate a solution to a longstanding dispute over aircraft subsidies after the World Trade Organization ruled on the EU’s case against Boeing Co (N:) this year, which meant that higher tariffs on Airbus (PA:) planes and parts would likely take effect on March 18 as planned.

He said EU officials were “overly worked up” about threats to transatlantic ties, which he said were as strong as ever.

But he said Brussels should seek a mandate from its member states to negotiate with Washington over agriculture, calling it the “locomotive that brings along manufacturing and services.”

The United States sells some agricultural products to Europe, ranging from wine and processed foods to soybeans, but has long sought greater access to the European market.

European officials have raised the possibility of negotiating a “mini deal” on trade with the United States as a way of establishing some good will toward more comprehensive negotiations.

Grassley said that would face resistance in Congress, which is already chafing at the Trump administration’s repeated moves to circumvent Congress’ constitutional authority to make trade policy by imposing unilateral tariffs and negotiating limited trade agreements that do not require congressional approval, such as the one with Japan last year.

“If it’s subject to TPA (trade promotion authority) and we’ve got to enact it, I don’t see how you get a European trade deal through if it isn’t comprehensive,” he said. “And you can’t leave agriculture out of it.”

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.