US delivers new trade proposal to EU, Brussels takes closer look

"Today we received the latest U.S. document for further negotiations. We are assessing it as we speak right now," she said.

During a press conference marking the end of the EU summit, von der Leyen added that reaching a satisfactory agreement may not be possible.

"We are ready for a deal. At the same time, we are preparing for the possibility that no satisfactory agreement is reached. All options remain on the table," the European Commission President explained.

NBC notes that, collectively, the 27 EU countries are the US's largest trading partners. Every year, goods worth trillions of dollars move across the borders between the European Union and the US.

What preceded this

In early April, Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs against most of the US's trading partners. However, he soon introduced a 90-day pause, giving countries time to reach trade agreements with Washington. During this period, a baseline tariff of 10% remained in effect.

A few weeks ago, EU Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis stated that the EU was continuing intensive negotiations with the US ahead of the July 9 tariff deadline. According to him, the bloc was aiming for progress.

At the same time, Dombrovskis warned that the EU was ready to take measures to protect the bloc’s economic interests and businesses if no solution was found.

If an agreement is not reached, a 50% tariff would be imposed on the EU. In response, the bloc also has its own set of tariffs worth tens of billions of dollars that could be activated.