“I think we’ll have a great conversation and hopefully it will be the beginning of some long-term trade negotiations,” said US Vice President JD Vance.
US Vice President JD Vance met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Rome and European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on May 18th. Vance said he hopes the rendezvous will lead to more trade debates between the US and the European Union.
“Europe is an important United States ally… But of course, we have some disagreements, just like our friends, on issues like trade,” Vance said.
“I think we’ll have a great conversation. Hopefully it will be the beginning of some long-term trade negotiations and the advantage of long-term trade between both Europe and the US,” Vance added.
The Trump administration has imposed a baseline 10% tariff on almost every country, and mutually targeted tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum and automobiles, which are collected by 25%. A 20% US tariff on EU products will come into effect at the end of the 90-day suspension if negotiations fail.
Von Der Leyen explained that trade relations between the EU and the US are the largest in the world and are worth more than $1.5 trillion a year.
Related Stories
The parties are exchanging negotiation documents discussing various topics for future talks, she added.
“It’s important now that we’ve exchanged papers that experts are deep diving and discussing the details,” von derreyen said. “Everyone knows the Devil is in the details, but what brings us together is that in the end we want to make a fair deal with both sides together.”
She has yet to meet President Donald Trump since she began her second term in January, but hasn’t shared a few words at Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican in April.
In addition to negotiating tariffs, Von Der Leyen said he would like to discuss defense spending with Ukraine with Vance.
“There are big questions about what that means in the 21st century,” he said.
The US vice president urged the Trump administration to advance its “America-First” foreign policy agenda, prioritizing US interests, and to encourage allies to take on more burdens of providing military security to the West, particularly in Europe.
Vance calls on European countries to increase their defense spending to around 5% of their gross domestic product, suggesting that some countries are used to existing security arrangements where the US is most responsible.
“I really think that the US and Europe are still on the same team,” he said. “European culture and American culture are very related and will always be linked.”
Travis Gillmore and Reuters contributed to this report.
