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Europe Today: UE trova l’accordo sul patto commerciale con gli USA, Putin vede Xi in Cina
Gli eurodeputati hanno raggiunto un accordo sull’intesa commerciale UE-USA firmata a luglio con Donald Trump. Ne parleremo con Bernd Lange, relatore del Parlamento europeo. In Cina Vladimir Putin sta per incontrare Xi Jinping.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/05/20/europe-today-accordo-ue-usa-sul-commercio-mentre-putin-incontra-xi-in-cina
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
Gli eurodeputati hanno raggiunto un accordo sull’intesa commerciale UE-USA firmata a luglio con Donald Trump. Ne parleremo con Bernd Lange, relatore del Parlamento europeo. In Cina Vladimir Putin sta per incontrare Xi Jinping.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/05/20/europe-today-accordo-ue-usa-sul-commercio-mentre-putin-incontra-xi-in-cina
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
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00:15Buongiorno, è Wednesday 20th May, I'm Maeve McMahon and this is Europe Today.
00:20The place to go for all the news driving the day, live here on Euronews.
00:25Coming up, after a sleepless night in Strasbourg, MEPs have reached a deal on the controversial EU-US trade arrangement
00:32signed last July with Donald Trump in Scotland.
00:34We'll speak exclusively to Bernd Lange, the lead MEP for the Parliament.
00:39Also in Strasbourg today, MEPs will hold crunch talks and finalise the controversial EU returns bill as national capitals call
00:47for long-term solutions for rejected asylum seekers.
00:50After months of deliberation, it would allow EU capitals to strike deals with third countries and build deportation centres outside
00:58the Union.
01:00Plus, just days after Donald Trump's high-profile trip, Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing late last night for
01:07talks with his Chinese counterpart and, quote, long-standing friend Xi Jinping.
01:12The visit comes as the US confirms plans to withdraw more troops from Europe, insisting the move will not weaken
01:19NATO's deterrence capabilities.
01:20We'll be crossing live to the NATO headquarters.
01:23But first, to our top story, negotiators from the three EU institutions, the Parliament, Council and Commission have sealed a
01:30deal in the early hours on the EU-US trade pact struck last summer in Scotland.
01:35After watering down safeguard measures, relations with the US remain fragile as President Trump continues to use tariffs as a
01:42tool to pressure allies.
01:44For more, I'm joined here in the studio by our Europe editor, Maria Taddeo.
01:48Good morning, Maria.
01:48Good morning.
01:49So they got the deal over the line. What's in it?
01:51Well, they got it over the line.
01:52They agree now to expedite the implementation of the arrangement that was agreed last summer between President Donald Trump and
01:59the head of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen,
02:01Just to bring our viewers up to speed with this deal, the tariffs on US industrial goods will go down
02:06to zero.
02:07Tariffs on European imports heading into the US would triple.
02:11At this stage, the thrust of this issue is the European Parliament now gives the approval, the consent to move
02:18on and go ahead with the implementation.
02:20They do this in a context in which the President of the US had threatened to double tariffs on European
02:27cars by July the 4th.
02:28That is, of course, America's Independence Day.
02:31If this did not happen, what the European Parliament agrees now is that this will put the relationship on a
02:37more stable footing.
02:38That is questionable, of course, given the context between the US, the Trump presidency and Brussels.
02:43And they also say, which is put together in this arrangement that we have now cut yesterday at about 2
02:50.30 in the morning,
02:51is that they will go ahead, expedite the implementation.
02:53But they also argue that it comes with some safeguards.
02:57Of course, we've had time now to look at the fine print.
02:59When I look at this, what I would argue is that the safeguards have, in fact, been watered down to
03:03get this under the line.
03:05There are no mentions.
03:06At some point, this was floated.
03:07The idea of territorial integrity in the European Union, a lot of this going back to the threats that President
03:12Trump made on Greenland,
03:14and therefore also Denmark, a member of the EU that does not feature.
03:17They do have a clause that says the Commission would have a right to suspend some of the parts of
03:24the agreement
03:24if we do not see tariffs and duties on steel and aluminum come down by the end of the year.
03:29Remember, they're now standing at around 50 percent.
03:32There has been no tariff relief on that front when it comes to the Americans on the EU.
03:37And they also say this could be suspended altogether by 2029.
03:41Of course, by 2029, President Trump will not be in offer.
03:44When I look at this, ultimately, the Parliament agrees in a very difficult context to move ahead,
03:49fearing that if not, that would lead to escalation and more tariffs by July.
03:54Ultimately, will this change anything about the fundamental core of the arrangement?
03:59No, the 15 percent of European goods will stay.
04:02And of course, the U.S. will still remain as a winner out of this with industrial goods coming down
04:06to zero
04:07and promised by the Europeans to buy and spend billions on U.S. weapons and energy.
04:12The deal, the core of it, stays as it is. It is stilted in favour of the U.S.
04:16OK, Maria Steyo, thank you so much for that.
04:18And shortly, you'll be speaking exclusively to Bernd Lange, one of the top negotiators on that deal,
04:22who was up all night. So stay with us here in the studio for that.
04:25But now, moving on, Russia's Vladimir Putin is back in Beijing, meeting Xi Jinping.
04:30But this visit feels very different from Donald Trump's just last week.
04:33So far, both leaders have hailed the important Russia-China ties,
04:37with Xi calling Putin a dear friend.
04:39Our Jakob Yanis has more.
04:42It's been less than a week since Donald Trump's visit to Beijing.
04:46And now it's Vladimir Putin's turn to land in the Chinese capital for a state meeting with Xi Jinping.
04:51And to see past the official agenda, you just have to look at the guest list.
04:55When the U.S. president visited, he brought tech and finance executives.
04:59Putin's massive delegation, however, includes five deputy prime ministers,
05:03eight ministers, regional governors and the head of Russia's central bank.
05:07So what does this power play actually signal for Europe?
05:12For Russia, China has become a critical economic lifeline.
05:16With bilateral trade topping $200 billion for three straight years,
05:21Moscow is structurally dependent on Beijing for industrial machinery, electronics and cars.
05:26And with major Russian banks cut off from Western financial systems,
05:30trade settlements in Chinese yuan have exploded from less than 2% in 2022
05:35to almost 30% to 40% of Russia's total trade.
05:39And for China, Beijing is buying record amounts of discounted Russian oil,
05:44so over 100 million tons a year.
05:47And at the same time, she is pushing for a massive new gas pipeline called the power of Siberia too.
05:53And the maths is simple.
05:55The Chinese leader wants cheap Russian raw materials,
05:58but he cannot risk Western penalties blocking Chinese exports to valuable European markets.
06:04But hey, look at who else was on that plane.
06:08Notably, Kirill Dmitriev, so head of Russia's direct investment fund,
06:12and Kremlin's key negotiator with Washington,
06:15hoping to leverage China's diplomatic ways to win down the Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
06:20But for Beijing, it's all about the Taiwan cut.
06:23And by showing Washington how close it can get to Moscow,
06:27China is pressuring Trump to limit US multi-billion dollar arms sales to Taiwan.
06:31And you see, Putin and Xi have met more than 40 times
06:35and openly called each other old friends.
06:37So if Europe is just waiting for these two to retire, there is bad news.
06:42Last year, Hot Mike caught them discussing leaving until 150.
06:46So maybe that will be just enough time for Europe to finally decide on its stance.
06:52And if not, maybe to learn Mandarin.
06:59Now moving on, the Brexit debate is back on the agenda
07:02after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership rivals
07:04suggested that the UK's place could be back here in the European Union.
07:09Euronews correspondent Marek Gwynn spoke exclusively to the UK's
07:12State Minister for Trade from Strasbourg
07:14and started by asking him whether his government should ditch its red lines
07:18and try to rejoin the EU's single market.
07:21Well, the red lines were an agreement that we had between ourselves
07:24and the British public who elected us in the general election.
07:27You're right, it's not even two years yet since the last general election.
07:30We've got another three years before the next general election.
07:33And I'm sure that the Labour government is going to be pushing forward
07:36on all these different elements.
07:38If we had more regulatory alignment between the UK and the European Union,
07:42just as we're about to do on food and agricultural products,
07:45but did that in other sectors as well,
07:48I think you would see a significant saving to business across the whole of the continent
07:52and a significant increase in trade between the UK and the EU.
07:57And I think that there's a really strong feeling that in a few years' time,
08:00it's perfectly possible that you will see British troops
08:03standing next to Danish troops and Spanish troops and German troops in Ukraine
08:08and defending our European security.
08:11It would be crazy if by that time we haven't managed to achieve a trading arrangement
08:16which allowed them to use the same car and buy the same products online
08:20and use services across the whole of the continent as well.
08:25Yet while you're pushing for this, your government is clearly on very fragile ground right now.
08:29There will clearly be eventually an official leadership contest
08:33and one of the challenges of former Health Secretary West Streeting
08:37has already adopted a much bolder line on the post-Brexit relationship,
08:42saying there needs to be a special relationship
08:44and even the possibility of rejoining the EU.
08:47Should that now be the Labour Party and the Labour government's line as well?
08:51Look, I've been a Remainer from the beginning of time
08:55and I remain a Remainer and I will remain a Remainer until my dying day.
08:59So, of course, I would love to see the UK as a member of the European Union,
09:04but a vote was taken in 2016 and we had a general election in 2024
09:08in which we made commitments to the British public,
09:11which I don't think we're about to surrender.
09:15The truth of the matter is we just need to get a common-sense approach
09:19to so many different issues, whether it's business travel
09:22and it's British performing artists being able to tour around Europe
09:25or it's standing up to the security threat.
09:29And our need, for instance, we will need to produce more steel,
09:34green steel in Europe, including in the UK,
09:37to be able to create the armaments that we're going to need for the future
09:40if we're going to really significantly invest,
09:42as we've all said we're going to, in defence and security.
09:47Now, if we're going to do that, we need to make sure that we have a good deal
09:50between the EU and the UK on steel, for instance.
09:53We need to make sure that British cars and electric vehicles
09:57can be sold in the European Union without additional burdens.
10:01All of these things, I think, to be honest, are just common sense.
10:03You also mentioned steel.
10:05The EU has recently halved its quotas and doubled its tariffs on foreign steel
10:10in response to the more hostile international landscape it's operating in.
10:14Are you afraid that the UK will be caught in that?
10:18So on steel, we are having very productive conversations with steel.
10:22We ourselves are introducing new steel trade measures on the 1st of July,
10:26just as the European Union is.
10:28We need to make sure that we don't provide a problem for each other.
10:31And because, frankly, the problem of that overcapacity in steel,
10:34which undermines sovereign steel capacity on the continent of Europe,
10:39is not provided by us, it's provided by China and some other countries in the world.
10:44But I'm very confident that we will come to a good arrangement on that.
10:48In relation to the idea of a European preference,
10:51a préférence aéropéenne or made-in-Europe campaign,
10:54I'm very confident that people accept this idea that the supply chains,
10:59in particular for cars and electric vehicles across Europe,
11:02include the UK.
11:04And if we're going to make sure that the whole of the continent of Europe prospers,
11:08I think Made in Europe will have to include the UK as part of that agenda.
11:16Now moving on to NATO,
11:17where foreign ministers are preparing for a two-day summit in Sweden,
11:21where concerns over military hardware due to the US-Israel war in Iran
11:25are top of the agenda.
11:26Also on their plate, how Europe can assist in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,
11:31if and when a resolution to the conflict emerges.
11:34For more, we can call straight over to NATO, to your news correspondent, Shona Murray.
11:38Good morning, Shona.
11:39So military chiefs are very worried about ammunition stocks.
11:42What are they saying to you?
11:46Well, good morning, Maeve.
11:47Indeed, NATO foreign affairs ministers are meeting in Sweden for the next couple of days
11:51to discuss a number of seriously consequential issues that are facing the alliance,
11:55not least of which is this delivery of munitions.
11:58Because as we've seen, the United States is burning through its stockpiles
12:01of very critical weapons, including Patriot air defence systems.
12:05That can have a knock-on effect for Europe and Ukraine and its access to these weapons.
12:10In addition, Maeve, we've also seen over the last few weeks
12:13an announcement by the US for troop cuts across European territory
12:17and European NATO territory.
12:19And there's due to be a further announcement of this on Friday.
12:22Now, I'm joined here at NATO headquarters by Colonel Martin O'Donnell,
12:26who's a senior advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe.
12:30Martin, thanks a million for joining us this morning.
12:32So, first of all, this troop cut.
12:33Now, we saw an announcement of 5,000 from Germany.
12:36Instead of taking 5,000 troops from Germany,
12:39the US is taking 4,000 or cancelling a brigade to Poland.
12:43But there is going to be subsequent cuts.
12:45The United States has already warned of this.
12:48But can you tell us a little bit more about the context?
12:50Yeah, sure.
12:52So, I think you're talking about two separate things,
12:54but they share one thing in common.
12:56I'll talk about the two separate things, but on the commonality.
12:59That is, the United States has made it abundantly clear
13:03that it needs to focus elsewhere, not just in Europe.
13:07It has stressed Europeans need to step up.
13:11Europeans are stepping up.
13:12There is agreement within the alliance that a stronger Europe equals a stronger NATO.
13:17So, that's the commonality that those two things share.
13:21Separately, if you look at each one, you talked about the 5,000 with the 4,000.
13:25The 4,000 troops, the rotational brigade earmarked for Poland,
13:30this has never been about Poland.
13:33The other 1,000 troops, obviously, coming from Germany,
13:38from a long-range fires unit there.
13:41And so, those are rotational forces.
13:43Rotational forces can rotate in and out.
13:45What's happening now is that the Supreme Allied Commander, General Grinkovic,
13:49in both his capacity as Supreme Allied Commander and as European Commander,
13:53is looking at how he needs to potentially adjust forces inside Europe to compensate for that,
13:59both U.S. forces and NATO forces.
14:03Separately, yes, the U.S., the U.S., there's been indications that the U.S. will announce changes to the
14:11NATO force model.
14:12I think the important thing for your viewers to understand is that those adjustments have been discussed about with NATO
14:18over the course of the last many months.
14:21All right, this is, there should be no surprises on this.
14:23And it will focus on areas where we see Europeans very, very capable of stepping up.
14:28So, the idea being that the first announcement was, I suppose, in the middle of a feud with Chancellor Mertz.
14:33This announcement is in relation to ongoing discussions and military planning.
14:38So, it's a little bit more sort of forward planning.
14:41Can I ask you also about access to munitions?
14:44Because we've seen the United States burning through billions of dollars worth of weapons.
14:48Now, there's concerns that Europeans won't be able to access what they need for Ukraine.
14:52Yeah, so I think the United States has also made this clear that there's enough munitions.
14:58Munitions are still flowing, both to Europe and, most importantly, to Ukraine.
15:02Cannot stress enough the importance of the PERL, the prioritized Ukraine requirements list,
15:06and the contributions that we continue to need from nations to step up.
15:10We've seen many, many contributions from many European nations.
15:13We need more to keep coming in to ensure these munitions can continue to go to Ukraine.
15:17But I suppose in terms of production, that's the key issue, isn't it?
15:19Because they can't keep up with the pace.
15:21So, what needs to be done in our production?
15:22Well, we need to increase our defense industrial base on both sides of the Atlantic.
15:26And that was a big part of the discussion that occurred here yesterday with the Chiefs of Defense meeting.
15:31I think that that will continue at the end of the week with the meeting of the foreign ministers.
15:35And just in relation to the drones, can you just quickly tell us a little bit about,
15:39because we've seen a lot more drone incursions across European territory.
15:43Just very quickly, is this something we need to be deeply concerned about?
15:46Yeah, so I think what, again, the viewers need to understand is we saw NATO shot down a drone yesterday
15:53that potentially threatened NATO airspace.
15:57We've done that before.
15:58We'll continue to do that.
15:59We're continuing to roll out ground-based interceptors for drones all along the eastern front as part of eastern sentry.
16:07And so viewers should be assured that NATO has a handle on this.
16:10Colonel Marlodon, thank you very much for joining us this morning.
16:12And back to you in studio, Maeve.
16:14Thank you so much.
16:15But now, as promised, it is time to dive deeper into our top story today.
16:19And that is, of course, that deal last night in Strasbourg on the EU-US trade deal.
16:23Maria, today, of course, is here with us on set.
16:25So over to you.
16:26Yes, Maeve, let's now go to Bernd Lange because he is a top negotiator for this file.
16:32A deal has been agreed yesterday night.
16:34Let's go straight to our guest in Strasbourg.
16:38And, sir, you've had no sleep.
16:40So thank you so much for joining us.
16:42I've got to admit, I've defended you many times every time you've delayed the vote because this is a consequential
16:48decision for Europeans.
16:50Nonetheless, I'm surprised.
16:51You've now agreed to it.
16:52What changed?
16:55First of all, it's not a deal.
16:57It's a legislation.
16:59And that's really important.
17:00And therefore, we had to be really careful.
17:03And secondly, we are not really delaying the process.
17:08The only delay we had was during the so-called Greenland exercise, where President Trump really used coercive measures against
17:19us.
17:19So now we have a safety net.
17:22So we are looking for safeguard mechanisms for a monitoring system.
17:27We are looking really to suspension clause.
17:30And we have also a clear sunset for the whole legislation.
17:34So this is a package which gives predictability and safety for us, for our consumer, for our industry.
17:41And therefore, I'm quite happy that we concluded it.
17:43But, sir, do you honestly believe that?
17:46Do you think you're going to have a more stable relationship with President Trump?
17:49Because some would argue you've agreed to it because it's threatening you to double tariffs on the cars.
17:53That's really what changed.
17:54Nothing else.
17:57Yeah, of course.
17:58We have now security.
18:00And that's so important.
18:01And as you know, this current legal base in the United States, the Straight Act 1 to 2, is expiring
18:08on the 24th of July.
18:10And nobody knows what will come after.
18:13And we have now clear criteria that if our deal is not respected on the U.S. side, then we
18:21will lift again the tariffs.
18:23Or secondly, as you know, the United States have really increased tariff for washing machines and other products after the
18:33deal of Scotland was concluded.
18:34And we want to bring them back.
18:36And also this has to be in our legislation.
18:39So this gives us an assurance that we can act in a proper way if there are turbulences on the
18:47other side of the Atlantic.
18:48Mr. Lange, some would say it's in fact the opposite.
18:51The safeguards have been watered down.
18:53There is a clause here that argues the deal can be halted.
18:57But only after 2029, President Trump will be gone by then.
19:00Do you really believe you have the safeguards in place so that this is a balanced deal?
19:08I will not make any comment on the deal of Scotland.
19:11Now we have really a safety net.
19:14And yes, we have safeguards.
19:16We will have a monitoring of the economic consequences inside the European Union starting three months after this legislation is
19:25coming into force.
19:26And we have a lot of suspension clauses and we have also clear regulation that if the United States will
19:34not decrease the tariffs for this metal product until the end of the year,
19:39then we will lift our tariffs for this product.
19:44And yes, we have a sunset clause.
19:46And this is really totally new.
19:48This was not foreseen.
19:49We will have an impact assessment about the whole exercise and then we will start negotiations after three years with
19:57the United States.
19:58So there is a really big package for giving us predictability.
20:02Although, of course, the sunset clause only kicks in in 2029, one year after President Trump's office.
20:07But I have to ask you about steel and aluminum because this is very important for the European industry.
20:11What makes you think the U.S. will agree to lower them from 50% because we have seen no
20:16movement over a year?
20:17This is very painful for the European industry.
20:22That's not totally correct.
20:24So we have some movement on the 2nd of April.
20:26So I'm a motorcycle driver and motorcycles are relieved from this tariff.
20:34So back to 15%.
20:35And some other products as well, but not all of them.
20:38So we are in contact and we give them a time until the end of the year.
20:43And if then it's not happening, then we will come back to our terrorists.
20:48So there is some room for maneuver on the U.S. side.
20:52And I hope that the U.S. administration will act properly.
20:58I just have to ask a final question.
21:00Now that you've agreed to expedite this, you say, I hope the U.S. will agree and comply too.
21:05Do you trust President Trump ultimately?
21:08Do you honestly believe he will go through his words?
21:14You never know what is coming in his mind.
21:17But we have the possibility to act.
21:20So if the conditions are not fulfilled, then we will reestablish immediately the European
21:26tariffs for U.S. products.
21:28And this is a clear message.
21:30Stick President Trump to the deal of Scotland.
21:34Then, of course, we can act in a proper way.
21:37If not, then we have our countermeasures ready.
21:40Well, Mr. Lange, thank you so much.
21:42I know you had a very short night.
21:43So thank you.
21:44I appreciate it for joining us this morning.
21:46Thank you so much to Maria as well.
21:48And Bert Lange, of course, will be having a busy day.
21:50He'll be speaking to the press a little bit later this morning for more news, of course,
21:53on that compromise.
21:54You can read yournews.com.
21:56But that does bring this edition of Europe Today to a close.
21:59Reach out to us at europetoday at yournews.com.
22:01That is our email address.
22:02But as always, thank you so much for tuning in.
22:04Take care of yourself and see you soon on Europe News.
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