EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič extended an olive branch to Washington on Wednesday, two days after the U.S. president was sworn in. He told POLITICO that Brussels was ready to talk with the new Washington administration — despite the repeated threats that Trump has made to hit the 27-nation bloc with tariffs.

U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to address a longstanding trade deficit with the European Union, saying he will reverse that by imposing tariffs or making the EU buy more U.S. oil and gas.

The European Commission has rejected US President Donald Trump's claims that the United States runs a trade deficit of $350 billion with the European Union. A commission spokesman said the $350-billion deficit does not exist and that the US and the EU have complementary strengths.