European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated Friday that she will visit U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington only happen if a “concrete” trade package is ready to be discussed, Politico reported.
Von der Leyen and Trump agreed to arrange a visit during their meeting at the Vatican last month, though no date has been finalized. Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, she said, “I think I had a good conversation with Trump on the phone and at the funeral of the Pope. But for me, it’s important that if I go to the White House, I want to have a package we can discuss. So it has to be concrete, and I want to have a solution that we can both agree on that.”
Trade tensions between the U.S. and the European Union remain unresolved, with the Trump administration maintaining 10 percent tariffs on all EU imports, along with 25 percent duties on cars and metals. In response, the EU paused its own retaliatory tariffs to make room for negotiations during Trump’s 90-day pause. However, Brussels raised the stakes on Thursday by proposing potential tariffs on nearly €100 billion worth of American imports, including major goods such as airplanes.
Shortly after the EU’s tariff list was published, Trump responded with surprising praise for von der Leyen. “She’s so fantastic,” he said twice during remarks in Washington, according to Politico. “I hope we’re gonna meet.” He also claimed that the EU “wanted to make a trade deal very badly,” following the imposition of 20 percent reciprocal tariffs by his administration.
The tone marked a stark departure from Trump’s earlier approach to the EU, which included not inviting any EU officials to his presidential inauguration and asserting that the bloc was designed to “screw” the United States.
Reacting to Trump’s recent praise, von der Leyen laughed for several seconds before responding, “I like compliments … In general,” Politico reported.
