A delegation of MEPs travelling to Texas to meet American counterparts three days after the US elections next week is aiming to make first contact with a new regime, whether Trump or Harris wins, according to its members.
Some 16 MEPs are expected to mingle with 12 US Congressmen and women, in Fort Worth, Texas, during the 89th EU-US inter-parliamentary meeting for a transatlantic legislators’ dialogue on 8 and 9 November.
The inter-parliamentary meeting is usually an opportunity for lawmakers from both side of the Atlantic to exchange views on their legislative agenda and priorities. But this time, the trip has gained a sense of urgency, as Trump has touted imposing a 10% tariff on all European Union goods exported to the United States, and cast doubt on US support to Ukraine.
“The objective of the trip is a first touch base with the US Congress delegation to the EU right after the election,” Italian MEP Brando Benifei, from the Socialists & Democrats, who chairs the EU delegation, told Euronews, adding that the trip would offer an opportunity to help defuse tension in the event of a Trump win.
The Italian will meet pro-Trump Republican congressman Nathaniel Moran during the event, who chairs the bipartisan US delegation set to meet the Europeans.
“We cannot sustain a trade war,” said Benifei. “It would be bad for the EU and for the US in the long term. We will not support an approach which supports an increase of tariffs on both sides,” he added.
Fellow delegate MEP Željana Zovko (Croatia/European People’s Party) warned of the impact of Trump’s trade policy on China and the consequences it could have for Europeans.
“If the US closes itself completely, China might turn to the European market to pour all its products,” she said. “Whereas the EU is trying to de-risk its relationship with the Chinese, with new trade agreements independent from China, with countries such as New Zealand, Chile or Vietnam,” she added.
In case of Harris’ victory, the talks between both US and EU delegations might also aim at easing some trade tensions. Aluminium and steel are still subject to negotiations since 2018, when Trump imposed 25% tariffs on EU steel and 10% on EU aluminium.
After the Biden administration replaced these tariffs with quotas, in 2023 the US agreed to continued suspension of tariffs until March 2025, while the EU agreed not to adopt retaliatory measures. “Aluminium and steel are still some issues that we have to overcome,” Benifei admitted.
The provisional agenda of the trip also includes a working session intitled “The importance of strengthening the defence capabilities of NATO and enhancing transatlantic security”.
Trump’s threat not to protect NATO’s members who fail to spend 2% of annual GDP on defence, would also feature along with broader US support for Ukraine.
“Our priority will be to continue in the same way our common support to Ukraine with the same level of cooperation we have achieved with the Biden administration and Republican congressmen,” Zovko said.
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