Cooler heads

The world takes a breath

“Negotiations are going really well, be cool. The end result will be worth it!”

—President Trump

IT’S STILL unlikely that the current president of the United States is somehow playing three-dimensional chess (as his radio people put it), but it is good to see he can be moved when the moving’s good, and necessary. The most business-friendly headline of the week was this one: Talks cool EU trade dispute

Any time a trade dispute can be cooled, break out the ice. After making so much news this year with his plans to impose tariffs on countries around the world—on allies and foes alike— President Trump seemed to be taking at least one step back this week. Which could lead to another, and another, and another.

The president hosted the European Union’s top boss Wednesday afternoon, and at a Rose Garden press conference announced some deals. Both men planned to “work together toward zero tariffs” on most goods. Which can only be good for America’s economy. And what’s good for America’s economy is good for the world’s economy.

The EU also promised to import more natural gas and—this is important for Arkansas—soybeans. With the tariff war going on between Washington and Beijing, our farmers will need more markets for their products.

And while all these negotiations are still going on, both this country and the Old World agree to “hold off further tariffs and reassess existing tariffs on steel and aluminum.” So said the European boss, Jean-Claude Juncker.

What does the business community think of this kind of talk? Here’s a hint: The stock market jumped Wednesday and Thursday. And unlike recent stories about tariffs, Republican lawmakers in Congress were 100 percent behind President Trump this week.

The papers say the president still isn’t a T-Totaler free trade convert. He insists that tariffs, or the threat of tariffs, gives him the upper hand in negotiations.

That remains to be seen. What’s proven so far is that business likes his deal with the EU. (And as a president named Coolidge once put it, the business of America is business.)

President Trump should take his own advice when it comes to tariff wars: Be cool. And the country could keep this economic winning streak going.