Europe Scrambles to Make a Deal: Ready to Talk Tariffs With Trump

In a turn of events that would make Monty Hall smile, the European Union is reportedly indicating that they are ready to meet with the Trump administration to make a deal on tariffs.

This was, very likely, the president's goal all along, and if that's true, it appears to be working.

Europe is "ready to negotiate" with the US and has offered to scrap tariffs on industrial goods, EU chief says. https://t.co/5oc1ZoyDxP
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) April 7, 2025

The full report appears on CNN's "Live Updates" page, and it appears to come from the top:

The European Union is “ready to negotiate” with the United States and has offered to scrap tariffs on industrial goods, Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said Monday.
“These tariffs come first and foremost at immense costs for US consumers and businesses but, at the same time, they have a massive impact on the global economy,” the head of the EU’s executive arm said at a news conference in Brussels.
Following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of hefty tariffs on dozens of countries last week, EU exports to the US face a 20% “reciprocal” tariff, while its steel and auto industry face a 25% tariff. Von der Leyen said the tariffs, which have caused a global market rout, represent a “major turning point” for the US.
“Nonetheless, we stand ready to negotiate with the United States. Indeed, we have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods, as we have successfully done with many other trading partners, because Europe is always ready for a good deal,” she said.

This is, as someone once said, a big freakin' deal. But Europe is also hedging their bets:

Meanwhile, the head of the EU’s executive arm said the bloc would explore new opportunities, citing deals it has already made with Mexico and Switzerland, as well as new trade agreements it is exploring with India, Indonesia and other countries in the Indo-Pacific.
“We will focus like a laser beam on the 83% of global trade that is beyond the United States – vast opportunities – and this is why we’re deepening our relations with our trading partners,” she said at a news conference in Brussels.

That's probably the smart thing to do, from Europe's viewpoint. In any negotiation in matters like these the safe assumption is that every national leader will act in their own nation's best interest, unless the nation involved is the United States when Democrats are in charge.

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As of this writing, it's probably too soon to know if there will be any impact on markets. The Dow is, again at this moment, down for the day, but it's been sliding all over the place. But for any deal to be made, people have to sit down and talk, and Europe is indicating that they are ready to talk.

Europe certainly must understand that they need us more than we need them. The United States, efforts to the contrary by Democrats notwithstanding, is still the world's largest economy. Every nation in the world wants - needs - access to our markets. That's the hand President Trump appears to be playing, and if we're just comparing economies, he's holding aces over kings. India and Indonesia are holding a pair of fives.

But what's interesting about this is that the EU is now starting to set the next stage in a complete global trade reset - a reset that, we can hope, Donald Trump instigated. People are talking. Deals will be made. And the global trade picture may look very different a year from now.

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