The European Commission maintains its meetings with US counterparts to stave off tariffs are "very productive", as Donald Trump threatens to slap a 25-percent levy on the EU.
The comment by EU commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill on Thursday (27 February) comes less than a day after Trump declared that the EU was created to "screw" the United States.
When pressed on how such meetings are productive in the lead up to Trump's latest threats, Gill said the EU was able to put forwards its viewpoints on the benefits of keeping a strong transatlantic relationship.
Gill said American companies have been able to invest and generate substantial revenues because of the unified EU market.
"This is also one of the key reasons why transatlantic trade amounts to over €1.5 trillion annually, making it the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world," he said, noting that the commission stands ready to protect European consumers and businesses.
But with the commission in charge of global trade deals on behalf of member states, the EU-led diplomacy has so far failed to temper Trump's looming trade war, posing questions on how such meetings are "very productive".
Trump's 25 percent tariff announcement on Wednesday was instead followed by a slight fall in euro and European bond yields.
A pre-announced meeting in Washington between the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas and US state secretary Marco Rubio, was cancelled yesterday due "scheduling conflicts".
The commission has since declined to say how many meetings it has held with the Trump administration.
"I'm not going to comment on meetings between commission representatives and US authorities," said Arianna Podestà, the commission's deputy spokesperson.
She also had no information to share on whether European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has any plans to meet with Trump, noting instead that she had met with vice-president JD Vance in mid-February.
The only visible high-level meeting appears to have been last week between Maroš Šefčovič, the EU trade commissioner, and top Trump administration commerce officials.
Šefčovič, at the time, said he saw some US willingness to mutually reduce tariffs. The EU has a 10-percent tariff on passenger cars, four times the rate of the US car import tariff of 2.5 percent.
Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.
Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.