Europe Today: EU strikes deal on trade pact with US as Putin meets Xi Jinping in China

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Europe Today: EU strikes deal on trade pact with US as Putin meets Xi Jinping in China  MEPs have reached a deal on the EU-US trade arrangement signed last July with Donald Trump. We’ll speak exclusively with Bernd Lange, the lead Member of the European Parliament on the issue. Meanwhile, in China, Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/05/20/europe-today-eu-strikes-deal-on-trade-pact-with-us-as-putin-meets-jinping-in-china  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

Transcript

00:14Good morning, it is Wednesday the 20th of May. I'm Maeve MacMahon and this is Europe Today.

00:20The place to go for all the news driving the day, live here on Euronews.

00:24Coming 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.

00:38Also 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.

00:59Plus, 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 bid 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 Tadeo.

01:47Good 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,

02:00just 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 if this did not happen.

02:32What the European Parliament agrees now is that this will put the relationship on a more 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

02:49.30 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,

03:10and all of this going back to the threats that President Trump 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

03:23the 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.

03:31There 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.

04:01And 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, 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 Yakub Yanis has more.

04:42It's been less than a week since Donald Trump's visit to Beijing.

04:45And 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.

04:54When the U.S. president visited, he brought tech and finance executives.

04:58Putin's massive delegation, however, includes five deputy prime ministers,

05:02eight 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

05:34to almost 30 to 40% of Russia's total trades.

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, Xi is pushing for a massive new gas pipeline,

05:51called the power of Siberia 2.

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.

06:07Notably, Kirill Dmitriev, so head of Russia's direct investment fund,

06:12and Kremlin's key negotiator with Washington,

06:14hoping to leverage China's diplomatic weight 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.

06:41Last 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.

06:51And if not, maybe to learn Mandarin.

06:58Now 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.

07:08Euronews 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.

07:26You'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.

07:37If 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,

07:47I 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.

08:10It 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,

08:26your 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

08:36has already adopted a much bolder line on the post-Brexit relationship,

08:41saying there needs to be a special relationship

08:43and 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,

09:03but 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,

09:22it's British performing artists being able to tour around Europe,

09:25or it's standing up to the security threat, and our need, for instance,

09:31we will need to produce more steel, green steel, in Europe, including in the UK,

09:36to be able to create the armaments that we're going to need for the future

09:40if we're going to really significantly invest, as we've all said we're going to,

09:44in defence and security.

09:46Now, 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.

09:52We need to make sure that British cars and electric vehicles

09:57can be sold in the European Union without additional burdens.

10:00All 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

10:09in 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.

10:27We 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.

10:41It'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.

10:47In relation to the idea of a European preference,

10:51a preference aerobeen 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 probably 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 are top of the agenda.

11:26Also on their plate,

11:27how 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.

11:57Because as we've seen,

11:59the United States is burning through its stockpiles of very critical weapons,

12:02including 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,

12:25who's a senior advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe.

12:30Martin, thanks a billion 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?

12:51Yeah, sure.

12:51So I think you're talking about two separate things,

12:53but they share one thing in common.

12:55I'll talk about the two separate things.

12:57But on the commonality, that 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.

13:40And 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.

14:02Separately, yes, there's been indications that the U.S. will announce changes to the NATO force model.

14:12I think the important thing for your viewers to understand is that

14:16those adjustments have been discussed about with NATO over the course of the last many months.

14:20There 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.

14:47Now 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.

14:57Munitions 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 our 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 about 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.

15:30I 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 it?

15:39Because we've seen a lot more drone incursions across European territory.

15:42Just 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

15:50we saw NATO shot down a drone yesterday that 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.

16:06And so viewers should be assured that NATO has a handle on this.

16:10Okay, Colonel 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.

16:31A deal has been agreed yesterday at night.

16:34Let's go straight to our guest in Strasbourg.

16:38And, sir, you've had no sleep, so 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,

16:47because this is a consequential decision 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, and that's really important, and 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,

17:14where President Trump really used coercive measures against us.

17:19So now we have a safety net, so we are looking for safeguard mechanisms for a monitoring system.

17:26We are looking really to suspension clause, and we have also a clear sunset for the whole legislation.

17:33So this is a package which gives predictability and safety for us, for our consumer, for our industry.

17:40Therefore, 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, and that's so important.

18:01If, and as you know, this current legal base in the United States, the Strait Act 1 to 2, is

18:08expiring on 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

18:20will 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 insurance that we can act in a proper way if there are turbulences on the other

18:47side 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 a deal can be halted, but only after 2029.

18:58President Trump will be gone by then.

19:00Do you really believe you have the safeguards in place so that this is a balanced deal?

19:07I will not make any comment on the deal of Scotland.

19:11Now we have really a safety net.

19:14And yes, we have safeguards.

19:15We 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.

19:28And we have also clear regulation that if the United States will not decrease the tariffs for this metal product

19:37until 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.

19:52And then we will start negotiations after three years with the 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 percent?

20:15Because we have seen no movement over a year.

20:17This is very painful for the European industry.

20:21That's not totally correct.

20:24So we have some movement on the 2nd of April.

20:26So I'm a motorcycle driver.

20:30And motorcycles are relieved from this tariff.

20:33So back to 50 percent.

20:35And some other products as well.

20:37But not all of them.

20:38So we are in contact.

20:40And 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?

21:07Do you honestly believe he will go through his words?

21:13So you 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.

21:27And 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.

21:47Well, to you, 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, you can read yournews.com.

21:56But that does bring this edition of Europe Today to a close.

21:59Reach out to us, europetoday at yournews.com.

22:01That is our email address.

22:02But as always, thank you so much for tuning in.

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