U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade negotiators are pushing the EU to make unilateral tariff reductions on U.S. goods, saying without concessions the bloc will not progress in talks to avoid additional 20% “reciprocal” duties, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is preparing to tell European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic on Friday that a recent “explanatory note” shared by Brussels for the talks falls short of U.S. expectations, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the report. The Office of the United States Trade Representative did not respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.
“The priority for the EU is to seek a fair, balanced deal with the U.S., one that our massive trade and investment relationship deserves,“ Olof Gill, the European Commission spokesperson for trade, told Reuters in an email.
The European Union continues to actively engage with the U.S., with Commissioner Sefcovic due to speak to Greer on Friday, Gill added.
The FT reported that the European Union has been pushing for a jointly agreed framework text for the talks but the two sides remain too far apart.
The U.S. imposed 25% tariffs on EU cars, steel and aluminium in March and 20% tariffs on other EU goods in April. It then halved the 20% rate until July 8, setting a 90-day window for talks to reach a more comprehensive tariff deal.
In response, the 27-nation EU suspended its own plans to impose retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods and proposed zero duties for all industrial goods on both sides.
