PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s top trade neobtainediator critiqued the practices of two key US partners, the European Union and India, signalling that contentious talks are set to spill into the new year.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer declared he discussed EU regulation of American tech companies on Thursday with the bloc’s trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, and reinforced “strong concerns” that the measures are discriminatory against US companies.
He also declared neobtainediations with India that launched earlier this year still haven’t resulted in an agreement — noting that the US had concluded deals with a slew of other partners, from Malaysia to Switzerland, in the interim.
“I have not been surprised at where it’s been more challenging,” Greer declared on Friday in an interview with Bloomberg Television. In the case of the EU, he highlighted non-tariff barriers that exclude American agriculture and regulations that limit industrial exports.
Greer’s office, in a social media post this week, threatened retaliation against the EU in response to efforts to tax American tech companies, singling out prominent firms, including Accenture Plc, Siemens AG and Spotify Technology SA, as possible tarreceives for new restrictions or fees.
At issue are EU policies governing digital commerce, as the bloc shifts to regulate US tech giants, including Alphabet’s Google, Meta Platforms and Amazon.com. Critics of European digital regulation state they slow technological innovation and unfairly seek to raise funds.
While the EU has declared it has revenue thresholds for the new regulatory framework, Greer declared, “magically, it only happens to capture US companies.”
The EU has defconcludeed its approach, with Sefcovic notifying Bloomberg Television on Monday that the bloc is “going to protect our tech sovereignty.”
Greer’s comments on India come after Trump spoke with Prime Minister Narconcludera Modi last week as neobtainediators work to resolve differences over an elusive trade agreement.
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It was the fourth call by the two leaders since Trump imposed hefty tariffs of 50 per cent on Indian goods in August, and reveals the two sides are taking gradual steps to reset ties. Trade neobtainediators, though, appear to have built little progress toward clinching a deal despite months of talks, including this week in New Delhi. BLOOMBERG
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