BUSINESS/COMMERCE/EU/NAFTA/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Monday [7-23-18] threatened Europe’s car exports ahead of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s visit to Washington later this week, saying the European Union has been ‘very tough’ on the U.S…Trump is weighing a 20 percent tariff on imports of automobiles and auto parts under a law that allows the executive to impose tariffs and other trade restrictions if the Commerce Department determines that imports of certain goods threaten national security. Trump has consistently targeted the EU for maintaining a 10 percent tariff on imported vehicles while the U.S. has a 2.5 percent tariff on imports of passenger vehicles. Trump also mentioned Mexico and said he talked with Mexican President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador at length over the phone recently, calling him a ‘terrific person’…Trump has made it clear he wants to work out a deal on NAFTA with Mexico first, and may pursue a renegotiation of the 24-year-old trade agreement separately with both Mexico and Canada — though both governments, and López Obrador, have insisted NAFTA remain a three-way deal.”
-Adam Behsudi, “Trump: U.S. ready to ‘do something’ about EU auto imports,” Politico, July 23, 2018 4:54 pm