Hassett blames EU internal divisions for stalled trade talks

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Tuesday insisted that trade negotiations with the European Union had stalled largely due to internal divisions within the bloc about their own priorities.

The EU includes 27 nations across the continent, many of which also maintain political feuds with one another and competing interests. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Hassett said “[t]he problem with the EU is just that they have so many different countries that disagree about what’s most important to them that they can’t make up their own minds.”

Trump, for his part, sounded an optimistic tone on the prospect of a resolution to the trade dispute after delaying planned 50% tariffs on the bloc at the request of its leaders.

"I have just been informed that the E.U. has called to quickly establish meeting dates," he posted Tuesday. "This is a positive event, and I hope that they will, FINALLY, like my same demand to China, open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of America. They will BOTH be very happy, and successful, if they do!!!"