EU ‘ready for a deal’ as deadline in tariffs conflict with US looms

Aarhus, Denmark (dpa) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday stressed that the EU is aiming for a breakthrough in negotiations with the United States on suspended tariff hikes.

“We are ready for a deal. We want a negotiated solution,” von der Leyen told reporters in Aarhus, Denmark. “But you all know that at the same time we’re preparing for the possibility that no satisfactory agreement is reached,” she said, alluding to a list of possible countermeasures.

“We will defend the European interest as needed,” she said.

In April, US President Donald Trump paused special levies on imports from most trading partners including the European Union for 90 days, prompting the bloc to suspend its planned countertariffs to allow for further talks. The 90-day period ends on July 9.

EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is currently in Washington trying to reach an agreement, the Commission president said.

Pressed on whether a breakthrough was feasible in the coming days, von der Leyen said the EU was aiming to reach an agreement in principle similar to the trade deal between the UK and the US concluded in May.

“We have the largest trade volume globally between the European Union and the United States, 1.5 trillion Euro,” she stated. With “such a volume in 90 days, an agreement in detail (is) impossible,” she added. (3 July)