EU admits it can't guarantee $600B promise to Trump

[In It to Win It]

BRUSSELS — The European Union has admitted it doesn’t have the power to deliver on a promise to invest $600 billion in the United States economy, only hours after making the pledge at landmark trade talks in Scotland.

That’s because the cash would come entirely from private sector investment over which Brussels has no authority, two EU officials said.

On Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump to avoid an all-out EU-U.S. trade war. The deal included a pledge to invest an extra $600 billion of EU money into the U.S. over the coming years.

But speaking Monday, two senior European Commission officials clarified that money would come exclusively from private European companies, with public investment contributing nothing.

“It is not something that the EU as a public authority can guarantee. It is something which is based on the intentions of the private companies,” said one of the senior Commission officials. The Commission has not said it will introduce any incentives to ensure the private sector meets that $600 billion target, nor given a precise timeframe for the investment.

https://www.politico.eu/article/eus-600bn-us-investment-will-come-exclusively-from-private-sector/

[bucolic_frolic]

1. They're just feeding his delusion

Dream on, Donnie, dream on.

[lame54]

5. Give him talking points...

A number to brag about

"Just announce the investigation. We'll take it from there."

[tanyev]

2. That's OK. Any promises Trump made to the EU are not guaranteed, either.

[Prairie Gates]

3. This framework of a deal sounds like concepts of a plan

[Johonny]

4. Well, yeah.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Trump's claim about a $600 billion 'gift' from the European Union quietly falls apart

Remember when the president said the E.U. would give him $600 billion that he could “do anything” he pleases with? That weird boast has now collapsed.

Just another lie … or a massive payoff?

Trump’s claim about a 0 billion ‘gift’ from the European Union quietly falls apart www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— @jimrissmiller.bsky.social 2025-08-22T20:31:06.464Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-claim-600-billion-gift-european-union-quietly-falls-apart-rcna226564

Earlier this month, Donald Trump spoke with CNBC about his administration’s trade policies, and he became especially animated about a specific part of an agreement between the United States and the European Union: $600 billion the E.U. had agreed to give him as a “gift.”

“That’s a gift,” the Republican president claimed. “That’s not like, you know, a loan, by the way. That’s not a loan that, ‘Oh, gee, three years comes up. We have to pay it back.’ There’s nothing to pay back. They gave us $600 billion that we can invest in anything we want.” Asked about the details, Trump went on to argue: “There are no details. The details are $600 billion to invest in anything I want. Anything. I can do anything I want.”......

Two weeks later, officials finally shared some substantive information about the agreement’s framework, and wouldn’t you know it, Trump’s boast isn’t holding up especially well. From the White House’s official summary:

The United States and the European Union share one of the world’s largest economic relationships, supported by mutual investment stocks exceeding $5 trillion, and intend to promote and facilitate mutual investments on both sides of the Atlantic. In this context, European companies are expected to invest an additional $600 billion across strategic sectors in the United States through 2028.

There’s a big gap between “expectations” about European companies’ future investments and a $600 billion “gift” that Trump “can do anything” he pleases with.....

Asked about the obvious difference between Trump’s public description of the $600 billion and what the official document about the trade deal reflects, a White House spokesperson told CNN that this was “pointless nitpicking.”