By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-11-06 19:22:03 | Updated at 2024-11-06 22:33:50
3 hours ago
The European Union is planning for talks with Donald Trump’s transition team as it seeks to head off a major economic and political shock after his convincing victory in Tuesday’s US presidential election.
High on their wish list will be keeping the tap open for US funds to flow to Ukraine and avoiding scything tariffs on European goods. Brussels has already been told what Trump would expect in return: EU backing for his tough agenda on China.
The China demand was made clear during preliminary talks with Republican interlocutors ahead of the election, according to people familiar with the talks, although it is likely to be just one item on a laundry list from a man who showed disdain for EU institutions during his first stint in the White House.
For more than a year, the European Commission has been working to “Trump-proof” the bloc, which has sore memories of his last term in office, during which he initiated a trade dispute and repeatedly threatened to revoke the American security blanket Europe enjoys.
Baskets of carrots and sticks have been prepared, including offers to buy more US energy goods to reduce the gaping trade deficit – and targeted retaliatory tariffs of more than 50 per cent if those offers fail.
They have also tried to game out post-election scenarios, ranging from the expected – higher US tariffs on Chinese products – to the far-fetched, such as Trump switching US diplomatic recognition of China from Beijing to Taipei.
