BERLIN

“WE HAVE FRENCH, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Bulgarian and, yes, even German and Greek wines. We have French, Italian and Spanish food. We have German, French and Italian cars. We have Airbus. We even have Irish Guinness and so many other fabulous beers that you lose count. You Americans have genetically modified food, bland beer, style-less SUV cars that can double as tractors, and don’t mention Boeing in polite company. No wonder we sell more to you than you do to us. Only in computer technology do you have the edge, and we’re working on that – look at the Chinese. When you Americans can make a meal that doesn’t involve hamburgers, then come back to us. When you have a car that can match a Porsche, Lamborghini or Ferrari, then come back to us. When your airliners manage to stay aloft for more than an hour, then come back to us. Otherwise, we will not buy your stuff because the standards you set are, how you say – L’absolute crap.” – Taken from a note passed by the European Union to the Trump White House after the US President threatened the largest trading bloc on the planet with tariffs because his country bought more if its products than the EU bought American.