TMTPOST -- The European Union officials suggested on Wednesday that they are working toward a framework trade with the United States while keeping options including retaliation in response to all the possible scenarios on the table.
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Credit：Xinhua News Agency
"We are looking for a reliable framework -- from which we can keep building our common trade," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament during a plenary session in Strasbourg, France.
Von der Leyen said the EU is working closely with the U.S., but is getting ready for all scenarios. "We stick to our principles, we defend our interests, we continue to work in good faith, and we get ready for all scenarios," said the head of the EU executive body taking charge of leading trade talks for the EU as a whole.
A European Commission spokesperson said the EU is aiming for a deal with the U.S. before August 1, U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest deadline for tariffs, and “potentially even in the coming days”, adding, "We’re now in what I would consider to be the most sensitive phase in negotiations.”
"We're working hard to get an agreement in principle with the U.S., and that is where our focus is at this point," the spokesperson said.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic told lawmakers that Brussels and Washington had made “good progress” on the text of a joint statement and echoed the spokesperson, stating that “I hope to reach a satisfactory conclusion, potentially even in the coming days.” But the chief negotiator underlined that EU legislation and regulatory autonomy remain "red lines" and are "non-negotiable" in the talks.
Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's trade committee, said the EU is not really accepting the “illegal and unjustified” U.S. tariffs, referring to the 25% auto tariffs and the 50% levies on steel and aluminum. Launge said two key issues remain unresolved: the U.S. has yet to commit to significantly cutting existing tariffs or refraining from new ones. He warned that the bloc is prepared to retaliate if no agreement is settled.
Trump on Monday posted letters dictating tariffs ranging from 25% to 40% on 14 countries, affecting all imports from Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia,Tunisia, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Serbia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Reuters later Monday reported the Trump administration will not send letters to the EU about higher tariffs as the bloc was close to an agreement with the U.S. But Trump on Tuesday indicated the letter informing new U.S. reciprocal tariffs on the EU at hand. Calling the EU “among the toughest to deal with”, Trump said: “We’re probably two days off from sending them a letter. We are talking to them.”
The European Commission spokesperson on Wednesday said his understanding is that the bloc will not receive such a letter. Lange the same day said the EU had not received any correspondence so far and had "no clue" about its contents.
Bloomberg on Tuesday reported the EU is nearing a preliminary deal that would shield certain key industries from tariffs that could come as early as August 1. Commercial aircraft maker Airbus Group SE and certain automakers are reported to benefit from tariff exemptions, and the spirits industry is set to receive tariff relief under the deal.
While the deal will enable exemptions granted to German automakers like BMW AG and Mercedes Benz Group AG, Italian luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari NV may be left out as exemptions are likely to apply only to those operate factories in the U.S.
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