Trump says he hopes to strike trade deal with Europe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he hopes to work out a fair and reciprocal trade deal between the United States and Europe as he welcomed the head of the European Commission to the White House for talks.

U.S. and European Union flags are pictured during the visit of Vice President Mike Pence to the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

“We just want it to be a level playing field for our farmers, for our manufacturers, for everybody,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “And we also want a big beneficiary, frankly, to be the European Union.”

The United States and EU are locked in a trade dispute stemming from Trump’s decision to impose steep tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum. Trump has also said he is considering tariffs on imports of automobiles, an action the EU hopes to head off.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters as he sat down with Trump that Europe and the United States needed to work together.

“We are close partners, allies - not enemies. We have to work together,” Juncker said, adding: “I think that we have to talk each to another, not at another.”

Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by David Alexander and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Will Dunham

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