U.S. and EU ‘Deal’: Smoke and Mirrors, Ongoing Secretive Talks
New Details Show EU Has Avoided Big Tech’s Attacks… For Now
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the United States and European Union published a joint statement outlining terms for ongoing trade negotiations.
Melinda St. Louis, Global Trade Watch Director at Public Citizen, issued the following statement in response:
“Trump’s chaos-creating tariffs once again haven’t delivered anything meaningful for U.S. workers – just another non-binding statement meant to grab headlines. Any claim of this being a ‘win’ by Trump is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
“The rest of the world is increasingly adopting the playbook that U.S. CEOs have successfully deployed: to use flattery, deference, and meaningless promises to avoid Trump’s wrath. In this case, the EU has made grandiose, unenforceable promises of investments and unrealistic commitments to purchase fossil fuels that Trump can tout, while preserving their public interest regulations and shielding their most sensitive sectors.
“If only they had given Trump a golden statue, he might have dropped the tariffs on booze too.”
“The most dangerous part of this ‘deal’ is the part that will continue behind closed doors – ongoing talks to address “nontariff barriers.” It’s clear that Trump is still aggressively pushing Big Tech’s agenda to attack EU’s digital regulation, Big Pharma’s agenda related to ‘intellectual property,’ and Big Oil’s agenda to boost fossil fuel exports and undermine the EU’s climate policies.”