Fact check: Trump and the alleged EU gift of $ 600 billion

Fact check: Trump and the alleged EU gift of $ 600 billion

17 days ago President Donald Trump made a remarkable claim in one interview With the economic news channel CNBC. In connection with the Trade agreement In July with the European Union, he said the EU gave the United States a gift of $ 600 billion, which he could use at will.

Trump’s claim about the 600 billion dollar gift

"You gave me $ 600 billion. And that's a gift," he said. "This is not a loan, just to make it clear. It is not a loan that we have to pay back in three years. There is nothing to repay. They gave us $ 600 billion that we can invest in everything we want." A CNBC journalist said the information because they tried to clarify the details of the $ 600 billion. Trump replied: "There are no details. The details are to invest $ 600 billion in what I want. Everything. I can do what I want."

Experts express skepticism

Trump's statements expressed strong doubts, especially because the European side in July declared that the $ 600 billion referred to the "intentions" of European private companies to invest in the United States over a longer period of time, not a kind of one-time hand out to the Trump administration. At the time of the CNBC interview, however, it was not possible to finally refute Trump's narrative, since the United States and the EU had not published an official common text in which what was agreed between the two sides.

The clarification of the EU frame

The two sides published A frame on Thursday. He is short and vague, but shows that there is no gift of $ 600 billion. Instead, the frame contains a clause that says: “The United States and the European Union share one of the largest economic relationships in the world, supported by mutual investment stocks of over 5 trillion dollars, and intend to promote and facilitate mutual investments on both sides of the Atlantic. Invest sectors in the United States. "

Misinterpretations and facts

This is not in accordance with Trump's claim that the EU has given him a sum of $ 600 billion, which he can "invest in everything he wants". Justin Wolfers, professor of economics at the University of Michigan, said On social media on Thursday that Trump received "no cent" of the 600 billion dollar "gifts" he claimed. In an interview with CNN, Wolfers added that there is "no obligation"; "Expected" is not an obligation. And the text makes it clear that every money that is actually invested is not given to the president for control, as Trump claimed, the US government is still in the broader sense; Instead, it is "by Europeans in whatever, preferably that Europeans want", invested, with profits being made to these Europeans.

Trump's answer to the criticism

When one commented on the White House for the discrepancy between Trump's description of the $ 600 billion and what the official document says, spokesman Kush Desai replied that this was “senseless nagging” about Trump's “Historical Victory for the American People”. Desai said: "The President is right. The European Union is investing $ 600 billion in strategic sectors that will create thousands of jobs in the United States, thanks to President Trump's negotiation skills."

Discreps with Japan

The trade agreement with the European Union is not the only agreement that deviates from the other side by the Trump's description. Trump said In the same CNBC interview in early August, "I got a Japan signing bonus of $ 550 billion; that's our money. It is our money to invest as we would like." However, Japanese officials have The promised funds differently described. Her top customs negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said in July, according to Japan Times, "It is not that $ 550 billion will be sent to the United States in cash."

Instead, Akazawa explained that it is a bundle of $ 550 billion that consists of Japanese investments, loans and credit guarantees, with investments making only 1% or 2% of the total amount (and the United States receives 90% of the profits from these investments). He expressed this month that the investment could be more than 2% of the total amount, but he continued to describe something other than an alleged one -time amount of $ 550 billion that the United States could spend at will.

So far, the USA and Japan have not published an official common text.