Brussels ‘urgently’ asks EU companies about US exposure as trade war deadline nears

With the clock ticking on a crucial deadline for a trade deal with Washington, the EU is urgently trying to find out how strong its hand is versus U.S. President Donald Trump by requesting investment data from Europe’s top companies.

European investments in the U.S. are a touchy subject now that Trump has threatened the EU with a 50 percent tariff from early July 9. EU officials are pressing to secure a deal before then to head off a full-blown trade war, but need to know what leverage they have. French President Emmanuel Macron last month called on EU companies to refrain from investments in the U.S.

The request for data on investments took the form of a quick message to BusinessEurope, the EU's main corporate lobby, which then trickled down to national organizations.

The message from BusinessEurope said: “We have received just now an urgent request from the Cabinet of Commissioner [Maroš] Šefčovič to provide available data about ongoing and planned European investments in the U.S.,” according to a national industry representative.

The request came “late Friday night” and responses are expected “as soon as possible,” the representative added, but there is no formal deadline. BusinessEurope is the largest lobby group in Brussels and represents all national employers' federations.

It’s unclear whether the Commission has sent business groups a full letter or even a questionnaire with more detailed requests. Several more sector-specific organizations in Brussels told POLITICO they hadn’t received anything, most likely because they are not direct members of BusinessEurope.

BusinessEurope confirmed it “was contacted to assist with collecting the most recent data on European investments in the U.S. to demonstrate the importance of the EU-U.S. economic relations,” a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the Commission said the executive was not able to comment on internal procedures.

Reuters reported first on the request.

Camille Gijs and Pieter Haeck contributed to this report.