Negotiations between Brussels and Washington have been underway since Trump announced a series of measures aimed at protecting American manufacturers, which he called “liberation day.”
They included a 10% tariff on all imports from the EU and most other US trading partners. The duties are pending consultations, but the US President warned that if no deals were made between Washington and Brussels by August 1, it would grow to 30%. Customs duties apply in addition to existing sector-specific obligations, such as steel, aluminum duties and 25% automobile import levis.
The Trump administration is stepping up its talks with the EU to test the “pain threshold” of the bloc, which he said in a post on Friday.
According to sources in the paper, the president hopes to reduce the 25% car rate that he “doesn’t work” to offer from Brussels and thinks it remains the same.
EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic provided a “downbeat” rating of recent discussions with Americans during a meeting of the Bloc’s ambassadors on Friday, the two explained the issue.
EU diplomats said they insisted that if Trump insisted on a 15% to 20% obligation, the EU would be forced to retaliate. Brussels has prepared several packages for its counterattack against Washington, but delayed implementation until August 1st.
“We don’t want a trade war, but we don’t know if the US will leave us with any options,” the source said.
MA/PR