Blitz Bureau
European Union leaders discussed new proposals from the United States on a trade deal at a summit in Brussels on June 26, with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying “all options remain on the table”, reported Reuters. The bloc has until July 9 to reach a deal or see swingeing tariffs kick in on a majority of goods, unleashing economic pain.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged the EU to do a “quick and simple” trade deal rather than a “slow and complicated” one. But, French President Emmanuel Macron, while also wanting a quick and pragmatic trade deal, said his country would not accept terms that were not balanced.
All tools must be used to ensure a fair deal and if the U.S. baseline rate of 10 per cent remained in place, then Europe’s response would have to have an equivalent impact, he said. “Our goodwill should not be seen as a weakness,” Macron added.
French officials have argued that the Commission should take a firmer stance including by targeting U.S. services. Similarly, Merz said European leaders were “basically united” on concluding the Mercosur trade deal with the South American trade bloc, but Macron said he could not support the deal in its current form. Von der Leyen said the EU had received the latest U.S. document on June 26 for further negotiations and the bloc was still assessing it. “We are ready for a deal. At the same time, we are preparing for the possibility that no satisfactory agreement is reached,” she told reporters. “In short, all options remain on the table.”
The bloc is already subject to US import tariffs of 50 per cent on its steel and aluminium, 25 per cent for cars and car parts along with the 10% tariff on most other EU goods that Trump has threatened could rise to 50 per cent without an agreement.
The European Union has agreed, but not imposed, tariffs on 21 billion euros ($24.55 billion) of US goods and is debating a further package of tariffs on up to 95 billion euros of U.S. imports. The EU leaders also discussed ideas to carve out a new form of trade cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries that would be a way of reforming what they see as an ineffective World Trade Organisation.
