Trump admin kicks off trade talks with Europe
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Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will kick off trade talks with Europe when he hosts Cecilia Malmström, the EU's trade commissioner, on Monday. They will discuss plans to proceed with negotiations over Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the free trade deal first proposed by the Obama Administration in 2013.
Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis; Chart: Lazaro Gamio / Axios
Why it matters: The US trade deficit in goods and services with Europe is the second largest to China. The decision to proceed with negotiations with Europe as a whole, rather than bilaterally with Eumembers, represents a concession from Trump. Germany is the source of more than two-thirds of America's deficit with Europe, and the administration has blamed Germany's use of the Euro for much of this gap. But demanding bilateral negotiations would likely have gone nowhere, as it is against EU rules.
