Top EU official to meet Trump amid trade fight

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday that he will travel Washington in July to meet with President Trump amid an escalating trade war between the U.S. and Europe. 

Juncker said that Europe stands committed to “free and fair, multilateral based trade,” and announced that he would meet with the U.S. president before the end of July, according to a European Commission spokeswoman.

That meeting will not take place before July 24, he said. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

.@JunckerEU “#Europe stands for free and fair, multilateral based trade. I want to maintain open channel of communication with the United States and will travel to Washington to meet President @realDonaldTrump before the end of July – it will not be before 24 July.” pic.twitter.com/P9A7RBAZVN

— Mina Andreeva (@Mina_Andreeva) June 29, 2018

{mosads}

News of Juncker’s planned trip to Washington comes as the U.S. and the European Union threaten each other with a new round of tariffs.

The Trump administration announced in May that it would impose stiff duties on steel and aluminum imported from the EU, Canada and Mexico. That prompted retaliatory tariffs from Europe on U.S. products ranging from motorcycles to bourbon and blue jeans.

Wisconsin-based motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson announced earlier this week that it would shift some of its production overseas to avoid the European tariffs. 

Juncker’s trip to Washington is one of a flurry of meetings Trump is scheduled to have with foreign leaders.

Trump is set to travel to Europe in July for the annual NATO summit in Brussels before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16.