EU/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump is not known for backing down, but the Europeans are coming to Washington anyway to see if they can convince him to rein in his trade policies. Less than two weeks after calling the European Union a ‘foe,’ Trump will meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the White House on Wednesday [7-25-18]. The sit-down comes as the 28-country bloc is fuming about the administration’s decision to slap hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, and is hoping to dissuade the president from imposing new tariffs on imported cars. Juncker has been one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Trump’s trade policies. In March, he called the president’s aluminum and steel tariffs ‘stupid.’ Warning that Europe would retaliate with tariffs on U.S. products, he added, ‘We can also do stupid.’ Former officials expect Wednesday’s White House meeting to be tense. The president, for his part, has shown little interest in rolling back his trade policies. He campaigned on an aggressive trade platform and he is reluctant to waver publicly, for fear of angering his supporters.”
–Andrew Restuccia and Doug Palmer, “‘It’s not going to be a great meeting’: Trump to welcome European Commission head,” Politico, July 24, 2018 9:07 pm