Microsoft president urges fast ‘resolution’ of transatlantic trade tensions

BRUSSELS: Microsoft President Brad Smith called Wednesday for a swift resolution of trade tensions between the United States and Europe, during an interview with AFP in Brussels.

Transatlantic ties are at their lowest since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House and unleashed painful tariffs against allies and rivals alike within weeks.“There are real issues that deserve discussion. We hope that there will be real resolutions that bring people together on both sides of the Atlantic, and the sooner, the better,” Smith said.

“We’re all going to need to see how the trade discussions unfold,” he said.Trump has hit steel, aluminium and auto imports with 25-per cent tariffs, and in April he imposed sweeping 20-per cent levies on EU goods before announcing a 90-day pause.

Now the European Union and the United States are in talks to avoid a bitter conflict that risks undoing a trade relationship worth 1.6 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion).Smith was in Europe to reaffirm Microsoft’s commitment to the continent, vowing that the company would protect European users’ data against any orders in court.

There are fears in Europe about what the cosying up of American Big Tech chief executives to Trump -- including Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg -- means for the continent where American technologies dominate.

Smith refrained from directly criticising Trump, saying that doing so would harm the “bridge” he seeks to build between the United States and Europe.“We believe that one of the great strengths of the world is the transatlantic relationship. It’s been important and good for the United States, it’s been important and good for Europe,” Smith said.

He noted that Microsoft had “very important” relationships with both sides.Smith was in Europe as the continent comes to terms with how it should respond to the changing nature of the US-EU relationship.

Calls have grown in the EU to wean the bloc off US technology, as Europeans fear Trump could demand that American companies sever Europe’s access in any trade war.Microsoft recognised Europe’s changing view of the United States, Smith said, but the ties that bound the two sides

were “so much bigger” than “issues that might divide us”.

“So let’s address the issues that divide us, and let’s remain committed to the ties that bind us, because I think they’re fundamental, not just to two continents, but to the entire world,” he added.Although Europe is now reckoning with what a future EU-US relationship will look like, Smith struck an optimistic note that the two sides could resolve issues.