Hogan says he’s the ‘type of guy’ to prod an EU-US trade thaw

What’s behind the effort to ease trade tensions between the European Union and the U.S.? “I’m just that kind of guy,” EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan quipped.

Speaking in Dublin on Friday, Hogan said he hoped mini-deals to reduce some tariffs between the two sides may be possible in coming weeks. The Irishman said he’d met American trade chief Robert Lighthizer five times since taking up his role in December, “so we are getting to know each other’s issues very well.”

“There is now political will to make every possible effort to reach some understanding on the issues that have bedeviled us,” Hogan told reporters, adding that Lighthizer is operating in “good faith.”

Transatlantic tensions have risen between the two allies, with the EU threatening a new round of tariffs against the U.S. over an airline subsidy dispute, and Washington saying it will hit European countries with sanctions if they go ahead with a plan to tax American tech companies at the end of the year.

Hogan said he’ll visit Washington again this month and hopes to make further progress then. Despite the improved mood music between the two sides, Hogan cautioned against raising expectations too much.

“It’s substance over speed,” he said. “There is a long list of issues on both sides that have been outstanding for many, many years.