Published on
The EU offer on trade with the US has not changed despite pressure from US President Donald Trump threat last week to impose 50% tariffs on EU imports.
The EU has proposed “zero-for-zero” reciprocity for a non-tariff regime on goods and offered to buy US energy, tech and agriproducts to end the trade war launched by the US mid-March.
“As regards the zero-for-zero- that is very much still on the table,” EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill said on Monday, adding: “We believe that’s a very attractive starting point for a good negotiation that could lead to benefits on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Last week the EU and the US exchanged letters with their respective offers to kick off negotiations, with disastrous effect.
Officials said the US proposal was “unilateral”, while Trump wrote on his social media Truth: “Our discussions with them [the EU] are going nowhere! Therefore I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025.”
On Friday afternoon, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič spoke to US counterpart Howard Lutnick, but the US asks were deemed unrealistic and unfair, an EU official said.
After talking to EU president Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, Trump agreed to postpone his threatened imposition of 50% tariffs until 9 July.
Both presidents “agreed to fast-track the trade negotiation and stay in close contact”, Commission’s chief spokesperson Paula Pino said Monday.
The US currently applies 25% tariffs on EU steel, aluminium and cars, and blanket 10% tariffs on all EU imports.
EU member states warned at a meeting mid-May, in Brussels, that the US-UK trade deal, whereby London accepted a baseline 10% US tariff to avoid other levies on cars and metals, was not an option. If the US maintains current tariffs, the EU will retaliate with countermeasures.
A package is under discussion in Brussels and in EU capitals to hit €95 billion worth of US goods with levies if the negotiation with the US fails. It would comes on top of a first list of US products worth €21 billion which was suspended after Trump announced a 90-Day pause until 9 July.
Šefčovič and Lutnick are expected to talk again on Monday afternoon.
