Von der Leyen: Trade deal with America ‘in a few weeks’

Commission chief said she had exchanged views with Trump ‘on trade, technology and energy.’

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today said she wanted to strike a trade agreement with the United States “in a few weeks,” according to German press agency DPA.

“We want to have an agreement together in a few weeks’ time that concludes these issues,” she said.

She gave no indication of the scope of such a deal, but said on Tuesday that she had “exchanged” views with Trump “on trade, technology and energy.”

Von der Leyen met with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday in Davos. After the meeting, the White House published a statement saying it “expects tangible progress toward a United States–European Union trade deal in the near future.”

Trump told CNBC on Wednesday that he had threatened von der Leyen with tariffs on cars. “I met with the new head of the European Commission, who’s terrific. And had a great talk. But I said, ‘Look, if we don’t get something, I’m going to have to take action,’ and the action will be a very high tariffs on their cars and other things that come into our country,” Trump said.

European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan this week signaled he was ready to compromise with Washington when he said the EU could be open to dropping certain regulatory barriers to U.S. agricultural goods to seal a pact.