Prime EU commerce official exhorts lawmakers to reject Trump’s lobster deal – POLITICO

Bernd Lange says the US isn’t performing within the spirit of August’s deal on crustaceans.

Name it the EU’s pincer motion in opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump.

The European Parliament received its chunk again within the transatlantic commerce battle in opposition to Trump when its commerce chief on Thursday urged his colleagues to shoot down a deal on lobsters struck with Washington in August.

The European Fee’s settlement to slash EU tariffs on reside and frozen lobsters from the U.S. was broadly seen as a peace providing, however Bernd Lange, the chair of Parliament’s commerce committee, complained that the Individuals weren’t coming into into the spirit of rapprochement.

Lange, a senior German politician from the center-left Socialists and Democrats group, argued the U.S. had gone too far by elevating tariffs on aluminum once more on Friday final week, and mentioned he now wished to reject the mini-deal on crustaceans. The deal is near Trump’s coronary heart within the run-up to the U.S. presidential election as a result of he gained one among out of the 4 electoral votes within the lobstering state of Maine within the 2016 race.

“To be trustworthy, I’m not actually keen to de-escalate … repeatedly, when from the U.S. aspect now we have solely escalation,” Lange mentioned. “I believe we should always give a transparent reply to the US.”

“Generally this endurance … is restricted. And that is the case now on the query of the US” — Bernd Lange

The transfer represents a volte-face for Lange, who was Parliament’s point-man on the lobster deal and had, till Thursday, been a number one proponent of it.

Lange argued Trump’s newest tariff enhance confirmed that repeated EU strikes to de-escalate had been pointless, together with the determination to not impose tariffs on practically $four billion licensed by the World Commerce Group over subsidies for Boeing.

As a substitute, Canada’s menace to retaliate had pressured Trump to withdraw his tariffs on Canadian aluminum in September, Lange argued. “Maybe that is the one reply the US and the Lighthizer administration perceive,” he mentioned, referring to U.S. Commerce Consultant Robert Lighthizer.

“Usually, you see it in my report, I might say OK, let’s begin de-escalating and go forward with this lobster deal,” Lange instructed his colleagues on Thursday.

“However final Friday, the U.S. imposed new tariffs on aluminium … and Lighthizer and Mr. Trump in Ohio made it very clear that they wished to guard their market.

“I believe a number of you understand that I’m from the north of Germany, and for [northern Germans] it is typical that they’ve a number of endurance,” Lange mentioned. “However generally this endurance … is restricted. And that is the case now on the query of the US.”

Danuta Hübner from the center-right European Folks’s Get together mentioned her group had been fully “taken unexpectedly” by Lange’s change of coronary heart. Whereas she agreed it was “tempting” to reject the deal and stand as much as Trump, Hübner mentioned she would talk about it along with her occasion colleagues earlier than deciding.

MEPs from most different events additionally mentioned they’d verify with their colleagues whether or not to again Lange’s new place.

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