US negotiations for their duties It may be extended beyond the July 9th deadline set by President Donald Trump, despite the fact that the pace of talks has accelerated in the last week, his officials believe in European Union (EU).
According to Bloomberg’s exclusive information, the EU considers that reaching an agreement on the principles of the agreement by July 9 is the best scenario, which will allow further discussions to carry out details. The United States is expected to respond to the last round of duties for the next few days and clarify the next steps.
Transatlantic allies are in a hurry to reach an agreement before the July deadline, when Washington will impose a 50% duty on almost all EU exports, possibly causing retaliation. The EU estimates that the duties adopted by Trump now cover 380 billion euros, or about 70% of its exports to the US.
EU Commissioner Maros Sefkovic is holding regular phone calls and personal meetings with US Minister of Commerce Howard Lutnik and US Trade Representative Jameson Greer since the partners agreed to accelerate them.
The Commission informed Member States on the course of talks earlier this week.
The two sides are now in -depth discussions on both critical areas – such as steel and aluminum, cars, medicinal products, semiconductors and civilian aircraft – as well as for tariff and non -tariffs, Bloomberg sources said.
Sources have warned that while negotiations are in a positive climate, they remain difficult. The EU believes that the US is seeking unilateral concessions and that any agreement will probably be asymmetric for the benefit of Washington.
For this reason, the Union intensifies preparations for countermeasures, including measures that could exceed tariffs. The Commission will consult with the Member States to consider strategic areas in which the US is dependent on the EU for potential countermeasures.
In the context of proposals that were communicated to the US at the end of last month, the EU offered to gradually work to abolish duties for cars, industrial products and non -sensitive agricultural products, examining quotas as intermediate measures, according to a previous report by Bloomberg. These negotiations have now accelerated, sources said.
The focus industries have already been hit by US duties or have been selected for future charges. The EU has proposed deepening the US co -operation in these areas as part of a previous proposal that was announced in the US last week, according to Bloomberg. The two sides also seek to work together on financial security.
The Commission hopes that the Union’s efforts to simplify its regulations will face some of Trump’s concerns about non -tariffs. However, any US claims that undermine EU autonomy on regulatory and tax issues remain red lines, sources said.
Along with the ongoing talks with the Trump government, the EU will continue to prepare countermeasures if the negotiations do not result in a satisfactory result.
The EU approved 21 billion euros of tariffs on US products in response to Trump’s duties to metals, which can be applied quickly. These duties are targeting politically sensitive US states and include products such as Louisiana soy, the homeland of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, as well as agricultural products, poultry and motorcycles.
The EU is also preparing an additional list of duties of 95 billion euros in US products in response to so -called “reciprocal” duties and duties to Trump’s automakers. These duties will target industrial products, such as Boeing aircraft, American -made cars and Burbon.
Separately, EU officials believe that there is an opportunity to cooperate in the field of critical minerals, according to the same sources. Bilateral talks are ongoing and the issue could also be raised at the G7 summit this month in Canada.