With the U.S. and China seemingly nearing the conclusion of a trade deal, many experts have predicted that Washington could next turn up tensions with the European Union.
Those worries came as the U.S. and some of its European allies recently clashed on issues such as Huawei’s role in 5G development — something the administration of President Donald Trump considered contentious.
But it would be a mistake if the Trump administration decided to impose additional tariffs on European products because of such differences, according to Anthony Gardner, who served as American ambassador to the EU from 2014 to 2017.
“That would be a mistake, if that is the position that Washington is going to take, that is a mistake. And the fundamental reason is that when you look at our common concerns — the U.S. and European concerns about China — we probably agree on 90 percent,” Gardner told CNBC’s Martin Soong on Tuesday at the Credit Suisse Global Supertrends Conference in Singapore.
