By Valentina Pop 

BRUSSELS -- The European Union is cautiously betting on its unconventional top official, Jean-Claude Juncker, to persuade President Donald Trump not to escalate the trans-Atlantic trade fight.

Appeals from European leaders have failed to dissuade Mr. Trump from imposing tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum and threatening new ones on cars, but officials say they believe Mr. Juncker's blunt-speaking and disdain for protocol has won some begrudging respect from the U.S. leader.

During a White House visit slated for Wednesday, the European Commission president will focus on arguing the EU is Washington's friend, not foe, as Mr. Trump has labeled the bloc, he said.

Officials are braced for the unexpected -- including the possibility that Mr. Trump will raise unrelated issues, such as Iran, after he assailed the country in an all-caps tweet early Monday. The EU supports the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Mr. Trump withdrew the U.S. from in May.

When Mr. Trump announced tariffs in March, Mr. Juncker promised EU retaliation by declaring "we can also do stupid." At a meeting of the Group of Seven large economies in June, Mr. Trump repeatedly called Mr. Juncker a "brutal killer," according to several people in the room, because of what Mr. Trump considers unfair EU trade policies and fines on U.S. tech companies.

At the G-7 in Canada, Mr. Juncker ultimately avoided other leaders' attempt to sway Mr. Trump, considering it futile, according to his aides. Mr. Trump invited Mr. Juncker to the White House at the meeting.

Mr. Juncker's toughness has fostered a personal rapport, say EU officials. White House officials didn't respond to requests for comment on Mr. Trump's view.

"I am going there upbeat and relaxed," Mr. Juncker said last week. He acknowledged limited success so far in swaying Mr. Trump but pledged to hammer away at data. "It's not about fake news, it's about objective facts."

Since the G-7, Mr. Juncker has closely coordinated on strategy and tactics with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the European leader to visit the White House most recently, according to the EU official.

EU officials say there could be a personal appeal, as in Canada, where the 63-year old politician from Luxembourg -- a small country sandwiched between Germany, France and Belgium -- opened his speech with a "passionate plea for trans-Atlantic cooperation," according to a senior EU official in the room.

There, Mr. Juncker illustrated his pro-American outlook with the story of his father being liberated from a prison camp by American soldiers at the end of World War II, after being forced into the German army, the official said.

Mr. Juncker's task could be complicated by recent criticism and even calls for his resignation after video aired of him having trouble walking at a gala dinner at the recent North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Brussels. The footage sparked speculation he was drunk, which he denied. Mr. Juncker has said he suffers from sciatica, a nerve condition that affects his legs.

In an attempt to keep discussions in Washington focused on economics, Mr. Juncker plans to warn of harm to the U.S. from an escalating trade fight, officials say. Last week he promised EU countermeasures if Mr. Trump proceeds with car tariffs.

EU Ambassador to Washington, David O'Sullivan, said countermeasures could target almost one-fifth of total U.S. exports to the EU, valued at nearly $300 billion, or one hundred times the countermeasures the EU imposed in response to the metals tariffs.

"Juncker is not naive," one EU official said. "He knows that what Trump announces on Twitter happens."

Mr. Trump first met Mr. Juncker in May of last year, at a small gathering in Brussels. Soon after, a comment by Mr. Trump, that "the Germans are bad, very bad" to the U.S. because of their trade surplus in cars, leaked to the German press. Mr. Juncker at a press conference days later in Italy played down Mr. Trump's remark, acknowledging the leak was accurate.

An irritated Mr. Trump later pulled Mr. Juncker aside to chastise him for discussing a confidential conversation, according to EU officials. Mr. Juncker retorted that the remarks had already been confirmed by Mr. Trump's then-economic advisor, Gary Cohn, on the sidelines of the same event.

Mr. Juncker's willingness to rebut Mr. Trump "left a certain impression" that he would stand up for the EU, a senior EU official said.

In Quebec last month, Mr. Juncker refused to participate in last-minute efforts to convince Mr. Trump and sign up to the G-7 final statement, memorialized in a now-famous photograph. Instead, he sat at a table across the room. Mr. Trump repeatedly asked, "Where is Jean-Claude?" according to people present.

--Laurence Norman in Brussels and Rebecca Ballhaus in Washington contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 23, 2018 12:25 ET (16:25 GMT)

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