President Donald Trump has stated that he believes that the European Union is “worse than China” in terms of applying “barriers, tariffs, taxes”. That bodes ill for the – currently stalled – negotiations towards reaching a trade deal. Indeed, the U.S. merchandise trade deficit with the EU climbed 10.5% year over year in the 12 months to Jun. 30 to reach a record $175.5 billion. It’s likely that tariffs will be the preferred tool should the Trump administration wish to take action against the EU. The largest contributors to the growth in the deficit are also subject to other administratio...