Vance says U.S. cares 'a lot' about Europe as trade war fears brew

Adds Von der Leyen comment, photos of her with Vance

By Jeffrey Dastin

PARIS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday said he would discuss trade and economic issues with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after Washington decided to impose tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports and stirred fears of a trade war.

Meeting with Von der Leyen and the commission's Vice President Kaja Kallas at the U.S. Ambassador's Residence in Paris, Vance added: "The Trump administration has been very clear that we care a lot about Europe. We see a lot of economic relationship to build upon with Europe."

"We also want to make sure that we're actually engaged in a security partnership that's good for both Europe and the United States," he said at the meeting, on the sidelines of an AI summit in Paris.

Von der Leyen said she liked the optimism with which Vance spoke about AI in his speech earlier Tuesday at the summit.

"I think the same goes for our transatlantic relations," she said. "We should look with optimism at our transatlantic relations that are deep and strong bonds."