The leaders of European Union discussed new proposals from USA to reach a trade agreement In a summit in Brussels on Thursday (26), when the committee chairman, Ursula von der Leyen, did not rule out that tariff negotiations could fail and said “all options remain on the table.”
Time is running out so that the block finds a common position before a pause in the highest tariffs threatened by the US President, Donald Trump, Expire in July 9which could damage car exporters to pharmaceutical products.
European leaders have gathered to decide whether they want to push for a fast trade agreement or continue to fight for a better deal, with the two largest EU economies apparently in disagreement.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has asked the EU to make a “fast and simple” trade deal instead of a “slow and complicated”.
But separately, French President Emmanuel Macron, although he also wants a fast and pragmatic trade agreement, said his country will not accept terms that are not balanced.
All tools should be used to ensure fair agreement, and if the US 10% basic rate remains in force, Europe’s response would have to have an equivalent impact, he said.
“Our goodwill should not be seen as a weakness,” Macron added.
French authorities argued that the commission should adopt a firmer stance, including aiming at US services.
Likewise, Merz said European leaders were “basically united” at the conclusion of the Mercosur trade agreement, but Macron said he could not support the agreement in its current form.
Von der Leyen said the EU received the last US document on Thursday for new negotiations and that the block was still evaluating him.
“We are ready for an agreement. At the same time, we are preparing for the possibility that there is no satisfactory agreement,” she told reporters. “In short, all options remain on the table.”
No specific details were immediately made available on the document, which an EU diplomat described as a “two -page agreement,” adding that the United States do not want to enter specific industrial sectors.
The block is already subject to 50% US import tariffs on its steel and aluminum, 25% for cars and automotive parts, in addition to the 10% rate on most other EU products that Trump threatened to increase to 50% without an agreement.
The European Union has agreed, but it has not imposed, tariffs about 21 billion euros on US products and is debating an additional package of tariffs up to 95 billion euros from US imports.
EU rebalancing options is a digital advertising tax, which would reach US giants such as Google, Meta, Apple, X and Microsoft and affect the commercial surplus in services the US has with the EU.
EU leaders also discussed ideas to create a new form of commercial cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries, which would be a way to reform what they consider a World Trade Organization ineffective.
Merz said the idea is in his early stages, but could include mechanisms to solve disputes, as the WTO should do.
“You all know the WTO doesn’t work anymore,” he said.
