EU Reported to Harden Stance on Tariffs Ahead of Trump's July Deadline

TMTPOST -- The European Union leaders recently took tougher tone on U.S. President Donald Trump』s tariffs as his July 9 deadline for reciprocal tariffs looms, according to a report on Tuesday.

Credit：Xinhua News Agency

The European capitals are insisting the U.S. rolls back its tariffs on the EU immediately as part of any framework deal ahead of the July 9 deadline, the Financial Times (FT) reported. The EU』s trade chief Maros Sefcovic has been reportedly instructed to take a tougher line on his trip on Washington this week as Brussels attempts to remove or at least cut Trump's levies in the long term.

European Trade Commissioner Sefcovic on Monday told reporters he would travel to Washington after talks in Turkey on Tuesday and seek meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday and Thursday. Sefcovic said the EU had received the first drafts of proposals from the United States for an eventual agreement, and was pushing for a deal on import levies that was "fair for both sides" and gave more predictability to businesses.

It was reported on Tuesday that top U.S. trade officials were seeking phased deals with the most engaged countries by July 9, and countries agree on such deals would be spared steeper reciprocal tariffs, but left with an existing 10% baseline levy while talks on thornier issues continue.

The FT report on Tuesday echoed the report. It cited EU officials that the U.S. has signaled to Brussels that the most likely first-stage agreement is a Britain-style phased one that remains some exisitng tariffs while talks continue.  However, ambassadors from EU member states on Monday asked Sefcovic to insist any such deal includes reductions in the current 10% baseline reciprocal tariffs from July 9, and they also demanded reductions to higher levies on individual sectors.  

The report raised uncertainties about the EU-U.S. deal.  European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen last Thursday said the EU is ready for a trade deal with the U.S., but 「all options remain on the table」 when she received the U.S. proposal and analyzed the document that day.」At the same time, we are preparing for the possibility that no satisfactory agreement is reached … and we will defend the European interest as needed. In short, all options remain on the table,」 said von der Leyen.

 Von der Leyen was confident a deal could be struck before the deadline, the president told EU leaders at a closed-door meeting Thursday evening, Bloomberg on Friday quoted people with knowledge of the meeting. It was said that there was a shift in tone among the leaders during discussion of a new proposal the U.S. shared this week. Many leaders said they were ready to accept some degree of imbalance in a trade deal to avoid an escalation, per the report.

Another Bloomberg report on Monday said the EU indicated it is willing to accept a trade agreement with U.S. that includes a 10% universal tariff on many of its exports but is seeking exemptions for pharmaceuticals, alcohol, semiconductors, and commercial aircraft as part of a trade deal. Though the FT cited sources on Tuesday that von der Leyen asked leaders at the a European summit on Thursday to endorse a tougher stance, and all outcomes, including a collapse in talks, remained possible. One of the sources said the EU was still divided over whether to retaliate cutting the incentive for the U.S. to compromise.