By Emre Peker 

BRUSSELS -- The European Union and Australia launched free-trade negotiations Monday, part of a push by U.S. allies world-wide to bolster economic links and counter fallout from President Donald Trump's "America First" policies.

European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström arrived this week in Canberra, Australia, advancing the EU's global trade offensive after the Group of Seven summit in Canada that left other Western leaders dismayed about Mr. Trump's protectionist measures.

"It is a challenging time, so it is really good to see that Australia shares our commitment to a positive trade agenda, and to the idea that good trade agreements are win-win agreements," Ms. Malmström said Monday in a joint briefing with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Trade Minister Steven Ciobo. "It sends a very strong political signal that we're launching these negotiations today."

The EU's trade chief will next meet counterparts in New Zealand on Thursday to launch trade talks with another U.S. ally. Brussels wants to fill the global vacuum in the wake of Washington's withdrawal from its traditional role as free-trade champion.

Yet the EU's ambitions are hampered by international and internal pitfalls testing the bloc while its longstanding partner is moving to punish Europe.

The White House placed tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum exports from the EU as of June 1, after three months of intense negotiations. The president accuses the EU of being unfair to the U.S. and, despite a gathering trade war, is now exploring tariffs on cars that would hit Europe hard.

The EU has pursued deeper trade links with other partners in the face of such challenges. The European Commission -- the EU's executive -- last year enacted a free-trade deal with Canada that was agreed to in 2016, and clinched tariff-slashing agreements over the past year with Japan and Mexico. Brussels also made politically difficult concessions on agriculture in an attempt to complete two decades of talks with Mercosur -- the trading bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

In a sign of internal challenges to the EU's agenda, however, Belgium and Italy are already threatening the Canada deal. The pact has been in provisional effect since September while awaiting national approval from all 28 EU members for full implementation.

Belgium has said it would only ratify the agreement if the EU's top court decides it is compatible with the bloc's laws; the first hearing is Tuesday. Italy's Agriculture Minister Gian Marco Centinaio told La Stampa last week that the pact didn't provide adequate recognition of Italian food products and the populist government would seek to block its ratification.

"There are always questions about trade policy," the EU's trade spokesman, Daniel Rosario, said Monday. "The European Commission is working together with member states to show that trade policies are mutually beneficial."

If an EU member explicitly refuses to ratify the Canada agreement and formally notifies the EU, the agreement would die, irking the bloc's partners and derailing its trade agenda.

Ms. Malmström said Monday that Italy was already benefiting from the accord, with an 8% rise in exports to Canada. She said Brussels would do its best to deliver a pact with Australia that all EU members could support, as Rome's potential veto on the Canada agreement stokes concerns over the bloc's ability to complete deals.

Ahead of negotiations with Australia and New Zealand, the bloc's strong agriculture lobby -- which was among the leading forces against free-trade deals with Canada and the U.S. -- is also raising red flags.

"We cannot accept sacrificing the livestock sector and food security in return for better conditions in other strategic sectors in the trade negotiations," the European farmers' lobby, Copa and Cogeca, said last month.

Trade deals with Australia and New Zealand will boost Europeans' long-run economic welfare by EUR4.8 billion ($5.6 billion), according to EU assessments. The bloc runs a trade surplus with both countries.

"We are committed to free trade and open markets," Mr. Turnbull said. "We practice what we preach."

Write to Emre Peker at emre.peker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 18, 2018 12:30 ET (16:30 GMT)

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