@alanbeattie
This offer is exceedingly unlikely to have any substance behind it. 1/n
FT view: (link: www.ft.com/content/45333adc-8f29-11e8-bb8f-a6a2f7bca546) ft.com/content/45333a…
@realDonaldTrump
The European Union is coming to Washington tomorrow to negotiate a deal on Trade. I have an idea for them. Both the U.S. and the E.U. drop all Tariffs, Barriers and Subsidies! That would finally be called Free Market and Fair Trade! Hope they do it, we are ready - but they won’t!
@alanbeattie
And while tariff cuts are hard enough, they can at least be restrained to bilateral application via an FTA. Cuts in general ag subsidies would hurt US farmers competing with much more efficient farmers than Europe's around the world - Brazilian, Oz, etc. Total non-starter. 2/2
(Apologies, should have been 2/n). This isn't confined to Trump. US made a similarly implausible "zero-for-zero" offer to the EU during the Doha round in 2005, taken seriously by almost no-one. (link: www.ft.com/content/270ed5c0-2484-11da-a5d0-00000e2511c8) ft.com/content/270ed5… 3/n
US looks for means to ease farmers’ worries
ft.com
At the time I recall comparing the offer to a penguin challenging a walrus to fly and promising to follow suit. Penguins at least have wings, so they superficially look as if they are closer to being able to fly, but they still can't. 4/n
The only even remotely possible thing here is if Trump is persuaded to drop tariffs in return for starting talks, he then loses interest and moves on to something else, and the talks dribble on endlessly. Still massively unlikely. 5/5
mobile.twitter.com/alanbeattie/status/1022092194121961472