CCTV News:On July 26th, the "International Critical Review" of the Central Radio and Television General Station broadcasted an article entitled "The suspension of war in the United States and Europe is only a measure to slow down the war", which was reprinted by many overseas media.
July 27-28, French Radio LCF facebook account, European Times German website, German-Chinese Report website, Spain Radio International website, Global Iberian APP, Italy RADIOWE website (facebook, twitter), Portugal Lisbon Rainbow FM website (facebook), Brazil Sao Paulo World China Radio facebook account, Turkey Economic Observation Network, India’s "Daily Morning News" website, Jordan Global Radio facebook account, Chinese PT portal, Chinese headline APP, Portuguese New Newspaper APP(facebook, twitter), European Union Chinese website, Europe-China United Times website, West Africa online website, Africa Times website, American business news network, Japanese Chinese business network and many other overseas media have forwarded them. On July 28th, Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po also published this article. The main reports are as follows:
On the afternoon of July 25, local time, US President Trump and European Commission President Juncker met with reporters at the White House, announcing their agreement to reduce bilateral trade barriers and ease trade frictions through negotiations and suspend the imposition of new tariffs on each other’s goods. For a time, the voice of shaking hands and making peace between the United States and Europe on economic and trade issues rose.
If the United States and Europe do not fight a trade war, it is certainly welcome, because historical experience has repeatedly proved that trade wars are backward, ineffective, outdated and have no winners. But can the Trump administration really keep its promise this time? People remember that more than two months ago, it was also in Washington that the United States and China reached a consensus not to engage in a trade war and stop increasing tariffs on each other. But ten days later, the White House went back on its word and announced that it would impose a 25% tariff on $50 billion of goods exported from China to the United States, which caused an uproar in the international community.
The Trump administration has a fickle criminal record. People may be more cautious about its agreement with the EU, and tend to regard it as a short-term "ceasefire" rather than an informal "truce".
Looking at the contents of the agreement, first of all, the United States and Europe agreed to commit themselves to zero tariffs, eliminate trade barriers and stop subsidies for non-automotive products, and will start a new round of negotiations to solve steel and aluminum tariffs and various retaliatory tariffs, and strengthen energy cooperation. These are directional and attitude statements, and there is no timetable, details and solution mechanism for implementing the agreement. In the agreement, the United States did not explicitly agree to stop increasing tariffs on EU steel and aluminum products. Especially in terms of automobile tariffs, this is the most concerned issue for the EU. Trump once said that "Mercedes-Benz cannot appear on Fifth Avenue in New York", but the agreement did not make a specific commitment on how to solve the automobile tariff problem. This means that Trump still holds the "seven inches" of the EU and can come in handy at any time. So how fair is such an agreement? How much mutual trust does the two sides of the agreement have?
Secondly, the Trump administration’s proposal of "zero tariff" to Europe is not exclusive and original, but "old wine in new bottles". As early as the Obama administration, when the United States and Europe started negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP), the two sides proposed to cancel tariffs on more than 97% of imported goods. However, due to many differences in government procurement, market access for agricultural products and financial supervision, the two sides talked for several years without any results. Now, only four months before the mid-term elections in the United States, how much time and patience can the Trump administration, which only takes votes, have to negotiate with the EU to achieve the goal of zero subsidies for non-automotive industrial products?
Third, the EU is an alliance of 28 member countries, with different levels of development and different attitudes towards the US trade friction. There are both vows of resistance and voices of compromise and avoidance of war. Although Juncker, as the "CEO" of the European Union, plays an important role in European politics, the final agreement reached with Trump must be recognized by EU leaders to be effective. If any EU leader disagrees or speaks disrespectfully to Trump, the whole negotiation process may be subverted.
The agreement between the United States and the European Union to suspend tariff increases is more of a gesture. The United States has not put down its trade gun against the European Union, but is only temporarily trying to slow down its troops in order to get a higher asking price. Moreover, it is not ruled out that Trump may change his face at any time.
What the EU needs to see more is that Trump’s "zero tariff" proposal has actually dug a trap for the EU: if the EU refuses zero tariff, it will become a protectionist, and Trump, who wields a tariff stick, will become a free trader; If the EU agrees to zero tariffs but fails to honor its promise, Trump can demand more from the EU on the grounds of breach of contract.
So, how many concessions can the EU make to satisfy Trump’s lion’s mouth? The best way to deal with the aggressive robbers who break into houses and ask for money is to tell each other "we are not afraid"; The only way to deal with American trade bullying is to face it bravely and resolutely fight back. It is impossible to get respect and understanding by making concessions blindly. On the contrary, it may further stimulate Trump’s "American priority" policy, and it will also make the "appeasers" pay a higher price.
A number of overseas media forwarded "International Sharp Review" articles:
Facebook account of Radio LCF in France was forwarded on July 27, 2018.
The German website of European Times was forwarded on July 27, 2018
The German-Chinese Report website was forwarded on July 27, 2018.
Spanish Radio International website forwarded on July 27, 2018
Italian RADIOWE website (facebook, Twitter) forwarded on July 27, 2018.
Facebook account of Brazil’s Sao Paulo World Broadcasting Station was forwarded on July 27, 2018.
Forward by Turkish Economic Observer Network on July 27, 2018
India’s "Daily Morning News" website was forwarded on July 27, 2018
Portuguese news APP(facebook, Twitter) forwarded on July 28, 2018.
Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao was published on July 28, 2018
Hong Kong Wen Wei Po was published on July 28, 2018.