The U.S. and the EU have begun serious trade talks to evade Donald Trump’s tariffs, breaking a deadlock that has left the group behind the queue in negotiations with Donald Trump’s team.
According to four people familiar with the matter, the two sides have exchanged negotiation documents in recent days outlining areas of discussion from tariffs to digital trade and investment opportunities.
The brief said Sabine Weyand, a senior trade official at the European Commission, told member states that the group still had to act calmly without succumbing to the U.S. desire for a “fast win”. She warned that some U.S. tariffs may remain, especially in sectors that the U.S. wants to re-ship, such as steel and automobile manufacturing.
Trump has been accused of "depriving" 27 members of the United States, and so far, U.S. officials have not made such great progress in countries like Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.
Trump's trade representative Jamieson Greer privately warned European diplomats that he was increasingly frustrated to force the pace, and he increasingly refused to provide any advice in writing.
Without an initial transfer from Brussels, he said the EU should expect Trump to reapply for his April 2 tariffs. The EU's 20% "reciprocal" tariff has been cut by half until July 8 to allow negotiations. Trump also imposes an additional 25% tax on steel, aluminum and automobiles and threatens to do so on drugs, semiconductors, copper, wood, critical minerals and aerospace parts.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroššefčovič spoke with Greer on Thursday and expressed his hope to meet him at the OECD ministerial meeting in Paris next month.
šefčovič told British banks that he wanted to reduce the EU trade deficit by buying more U.S. natural gas, weapons and agricultural products. However, the United States has repeatedly raised concerns about VAT, digital service regulations, food standards and tariffs on certain U.S. goods.
Daniel Mullaney, who was the chief trade negotiator for the U.S. and the EU, said the U.S. could focus on pharmaceutical regulations and open Europe to U.S. agricultural products in the upcoming talks.
The EU Trade Minister made it clear that the US-UK agreement, which recently hit a 10% tariff, is not a template for the group.
"We will not be satisfied with this kind of deal" and the United States should "expect countermeasures." "10% is not a deal", an EU official said.
The EU stopped retaliatory tariffs of 2.1 billion euros due to negotiations, but last week the committee proposed another 95 billion euro package, including Boeing aircraft, cars and bourbon.
Šefčovič also said the EU would not accept U.S. scrap barrels or weaken digital regulations and taxation requirements.
However, the group's opening volume is to reduce its dependence on China's key raw materials and medicines and impose tariffs suspected of subsidizing China's exports.
EU documents say Weyand visited Washington in early May, saying the UK deal shows that the U.S. wants to use a deal to control supply chains and squeeze out Chinese products.