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The Times: Trump puts EU ahead of UK in trade queue

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G

GarthVaderUK

Banned
Trump puts EU ahead of Britain in trade queue
Merkel lands Brexit victory for Brussels

Britain has been pushed behind the European Union in the queue to strike a free-trade deal with the United States, officials in Washington have said.

President Trump has softened his opposition to negotiating with the bloc as a whole after attempts by his officials to open talks with individual European nations were rebuffed.

During a private conversation last month, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, convinced Mr Trump that talks on a US-EU deal would be simpler than he thought, sources close to both sides of the discussion told The Times.

This led to a ”realisation" in the Trump administration that a trade deal with the EU — allowing the tariff-free exchange of goods and services — was more important to US interests than a post-Brexit deal with Britain, a source close to the White House said.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade deal between the EU and US, shelved after Mr Trump's election victory, could now be revived or a new deal proposed.

The EU is America's biggest trading partner: US exports to the bloc last year were worth $270 billion; it imported goods worth $417 billion. In the same period the US exported $55 billion in goods to Britain and imported $54 billion.

The development threatens to embarrass Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, who after meeting Mr Trump's advisers in January claimed that Britain would be ”first in line" for a deal. A year ago Barack Obama warned that the UK would be at ”the back of the queue" if it left the EU. Speaking alongside David Cameron in London, he said: ”Maybe at some point down the line there might be a UK-US trade agreement but it's not going to happen any time soon."

Mr Trump's change of heart has been put down to Mrs Merkel's intransigence. After her trip to Washington, she briefed cabinet colleagues on what she said were ”very basic misunder- standings" by Mr Trump on the ”fundamentals" of the EU and trade.

”Ten times Trump asked her if he could negotiate a trade deal with Germany. Every time she replied, ‘You can't do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU'," a senior German politician said. ”On the eleventh refusal, Trump finally got the message, ‘Oh, we'll do a deal with Europe then.' " Cecilia Malmström, the EU's trade commissioner, will visit Washington next week for informal talks with Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary, and other Trump officials. The EU and Mrs Malmström are keen not to appear to plead for the reopening of TTIP negotiations but will discuss the ”economic and strategic rationale" for a deal if the American side does the same.
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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trump-puts-eu-ahead-of-britain-in-trade-queue-l7t8zwn7k

ThingsAreLookingPrettyGood.gif

Edit:
c99pfmhxkaayx6kaoq3a.jpg
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C

Chmpocalypse

Blizzard
Lol

Get brekt leavers, all your claims of how great your utterly stupid decision would turn out to be are turning to ash.

Inb4 "what are you talking about, we always knew this would happen herpderp"
 
I

iMax

Member
”Ten times Trump asked her if he could negotiate a trade deal with Germany. Every time she replied, ‘You can't do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU'."
Click to expand...

How can he not know this.
 
?

.....

Member
Sweet jesus the level of incompetence is ridiculous. You reap what you sow.
It's hard to even say that when you know youre gonna suffer at the hands of others.
 
S

slider

Member
Do you even know what the Great in Great Britain means? Yeah, that's right. We'll go off to other colonies and lead ourselves to a glorious and prosperous future! /s
 
G

Got

Banned
Chmpocalypse said:
Lol

Get brekt leavers, all your claims of how great your utterly stupid decision would turn out to be are turning to ash.

Inb4 "what are you talking about, we always knew this would happen herpderp"
Click to expand...

like those idiots will ever acknowledge their moronic views, lol
 
T

Tranqueris

Banned
Add them to the list.
Minorities who voted for Trump.
People who voted for Trump and got their undocumented relatives deported.
White women.
Rural voters.
Poor people who need Obamacare.
The Alt Right who freaked out about their internet data being sold.
The Alt Right who freaked out about him bombing Syria.
Julian Assange.
Michael Flynn.
Putin in regards to his sanctions and oil deals.
Click to expand...

And finally, the UK who thought they could cozy up to him and laugh in the EU's face.

Zha723D.gif
 
L

Lubricus

Member
D4Danger said:
he'll be prioritizing trade deals with Mexico the next time the wind changes.
Click to expand...

When he hears from the midwest USA on losing grain contracts with Mexico, the Mexicans will be "great people, I know Mexico is our friend and will do the right thing [sign more grain contracts]".
 
N

Nordicus

Member
D4Danger said:
he'll be prioritizing trade deals with Mexico the next time the wind changes.
Click to expand...
And let's be resource-efficient and have Trump meet up with a taco truck driver rather than a Mexican politician. Given his attention span I imagine it'll be as effective. We shouldn't even waste ambassadors' valuable time on him.
 
J

Jenov

Member
”On the eleventh refusal, Trump finally got the message, ‘Oh, we'll do a deal with Europe then.'

Ah god... the man has the memory retention of a goldfish. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the administration/family are going through pains trying to cover up some early onset dementia/Alzheimers he has. EU better have gotten that shit in writing, because it could all be gone from his fat orange head tomorrow.
 
D

D4Danger

Unconfirmed Member
Fenderputty said:
This isn't bad news, it's fucking hilarious news.
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it's barely even news. He doesn't seem to understand the difference between Germany and the EU and changed his mind after a short meeting. What people are expecting out of a trade deal with the world's two biggest trade blocs is anyone's guess. He'll probably get distracted by some keys over the weekend and forget.
 
K

kirblar

Member
Lactose_Intolerant said:
It seems anyone can change his mind just by talking to him for 10 minutes.
Click to expand...
When guys like Trump play Survivor/BB it's always a case of them going with whoever talked to them last. They're nightmarish and frustrating for viewers, because they're incapable of actually playing the game, they exist only to enable others.
 
V

VendettaRed07

Member
Really I think the best thing to do would be to match how Europe treats the U.K. And hardline them on trade. I'm sure they are likely desperate to increase trade with us after brexit but if we prioritize eu at first and let them panic for a bit then we'll probably get the most favorable deal that way.
 
F

Fenderputty

Banned
The Rust Belt voted for this guy because of his rhetoric about bringing back jobs and renegotiating trade deals with tariffs. Since he's been elected he's flipped his stance on china and will negotiate a free trade deal with the EU leaving the U.K. out. He's also stopped pushing for Mexican tariffs and a Mexican paid wall. Get fucked rust belt voter
 
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