*

European corporate spending could help re-industrialise US

*

Trump calls urgency around talks a 'positive event'

*

Some German companies losing interest in US investment,

survey

finds

*

ASEAN leaders vow to avoid beggar-thy-neighbor deals with

the US

By Victoria Waldersee, Susan Heavey and Danial Azhar

BERLIN/WASHINGTON/KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Reuters) -

E uropean Union officials have asked the EU's leading companies

and CEOs for details of their U.S. investment plans, according

to two sources familiar with the matter, as Brussels prepares to

advance trade talks with Washington after U.S. President Donald

Trump backtracked on threatened steep tariffs on imports from

the bloc.

Trump said on Tuesday the European Union's move to set up

talks was positive and that he hoped Europe would "open up" to

trade with the U.S., even as he repeated a threat to impose

trade terms if no agreement emerges.

"I have just been informed that the E.U. has called to

quickly establish meeting dates. This is a positive event, and I

hope that they will, FINALLY, like my same demand to China, open

up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of

America," Trump wrote on his social media platform.

Over the weekend, Trump walked back a threat to impose 50%

tariffs on goods from the region beginning June 1 after "a very

nice call" with EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.

The reversal helped power global stocks higher on Tuesday,

with U.S. indexes recouping their losses from late last week.

The S&P 500 Index was up 2% in mid-afternoon trading, its

biggest gain in two weeks.

Ahead of the talks, members of the Confederation of European

Business, also known as BusinessEurope, an alliance of 42

federations across the region, received a survey from the

European Commission on Monday. It requested information on

upcoming U.S. investments with an instruction to respond as soon

as possible, one source said.

A similar note seeking information on investment plans for

the next five years was sent to the 59-person European Round

Table for Industry, a second source said, with a note that the

request came personally from von der Leyen.

The roundtable's members include the CEOs of companies

ranging from chip equipment maker ASML to chemicals

group BASF, software company SAP, and

automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

BusinessEurope's members include employer and industry

associations representing an equally wide range of companies,

notably Germany's auto sector, as well as the aerospace and

pharmaceutical industries.

BusinessEurope confirmed it had been contacted to assist

with collecting the most recent data on European investment in

the U.S. to demonstrate the importance of EU-U.S. economic ties.

The European Round Table for Industry did not immediately

respond to a request for comment, while the Commission declined

to comment.

The sources asked not to be named because they were not

authorised to speak publicly on the issue.

UNCERTAINTY SAPS INVESTOR APPETITE

The Commission, which oversees trade policy for the

27-nation European Union, is stepping up efforts to secure a

deal with the United States to end U.S. import tariffs on EU

goods, or at least prevent any increases.

The Commission is trying to establish what might satisfy

Trump, having offered a deal in which both sides move to zero

tariffs on industrial goods, and the EU buys more soybeans, arms

and liquefied natural gas.

Trump has made clear a chief goal of his tariffs is to

re-industrialise the United States, towards which European

corporate investment could contribute.

Some of the biggest investment announcements from Europe so

far have come from the pharmaceutical sector, with Swiss pharma

companies Roche and Novartis pledging $50 billion and

$23 billion respectively. France's Sanofi has said it

wants to invest at least $20 billion through 2030.

However, further plans are under threat by Trump's executive

order on drug pricing, Roche flagged earlier in May.

At least seven other European companies have said they would

increase investments in the U.S., but gave no specific details

on spending plans, a Reuters review of releases and executive

comments on earnings conference calls over the last two months

shows.

A survey by Germany's Chamber of Commerce and Industry this

month found that 24% of companies planned higher investments in

the U.S. in the coming year, but 29% were reducing their

investments.

An industry association source speaking on condition of

anonymity said the uncertainty caused by Trump's volatile policy

announcements had reduced interest in U.S. investment.

Italian tyre maker Pirelli said it had to suspend

plans to invest further in the U.S. as it needed to ease

tensions with Chinese state-owned group Sinochem,

one of its major shareholders.

ASEAN: NO BEGGAR-THY-NEIGHBOR

Southeast Asian leaders, meanwhile, on Tuesday agreed that

any bilateral deals they might strike with the U.S. would not

harm the economies of fellow members.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current chair

of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said there was

consensus during an ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur that any deals

negotiated with Washington would ensure the interests of the

region as a whole were protected.

Southeast Asia is among the regions hardest hit by the

tariffs, with six of its countries facing levies of between 32%

and 49% in July if negotiations on reductions fail.

"While proceeding with bilateral negotiations ... the

consensus rose to have some sort of understanding with ASEAN

that decisions should not be at the expense of any other

country," said Anwar, who on Monday said he had written to Trump

requesting an ASEAN-U.S. meeting on the tariffs.

"So we will have to protect the turf of 650 or 660 million

people," he said of ASEAN.