EU dispatches envoy to Washington to revive tariff talks

Today, EU Trade Representative Maroš Šefčovič will meet with his colleagues in Washington, hoping that the partial truce may lead to some meaningful negotiations.

The dialogue could even reduce duties below the current 10% after the US president suggested there may be "exemptions."

The trip is meant to provide a better understanding of the US administration’s readiness for negotiations and its priorities, a senior government official told Bloomberg.

However, despite repeated calls for European unity, there is no consensus in the EU about how far the bloc should go with concessions or how to retaliate if the negotiations fail.

ECB President Christine Lagarde told EU finance ministers over the weekend to refrain from excessive comments and to allow the commission to exercise its exclusive competence in the field of trade.

Mutual tariffs

On April 9, the EU approved tariffs on goods from the US worth about 21 billion euros. They responded to Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum supplies from the EU.

On the same day, Trump canceled the so-called mutual tariffs for the EU at 20%. Now this rate will be at the level of 10%.

Following this, the EU suspended for 90 days the 25% tariffs agreed as a response to US tariffs on steel and automobiles.

The EU is working on a "term sheet" for a potential agreement, which will outline areas for negotiations, including reducing its own tariffs, mutual investments, and easing specific rules and standards.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has clarified that her top priority is to conclude a deal with the US that would reduce or eliminate tariffs. And if this does not succeed, the bloc is ready to take retaliatory measures.

Trump's new tariffs now affect about 380 billion euros worth of EU goods.