EU and US near 15% tariff deal, reports say, but talks fluid
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The news: The European Union and the United States are closing in on a trade deal that would impose a 15% baseline tariff on most EU exports, financial media reported citing unnamed diplomats and officials familiar with the talks.
The proposed agreement would mirror the accord announced a day earlier between the US and Japan and would head off by US President Donald Trump’s threat to raise duties to 30% from 1 August.
EU officials are pushing for the 15% rate to cover sectors including cars, while imports of steel and aluminium above a certain quota would face a 50% tariff, one of the diplomats told Bloomberg.
The deal may include exemptions for aircraft, spirits, medical devices and other products, FT sources said.
The context: The outlets said talks remain fluid and that any agreement is yet to be signed off by Trump, whose ultimate decision is difficult to predict. A US official told Blomberg an announcement was not expected imminently.
If no deal is reached, the EU is preparing a package of retaliatory tariffs worth over €90 billion and is considering activating its anti-coercion instrument to restrict US companies’ access to European markets.
The sources: The Financial Times, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal
