US President Donald Trump has made bigger demands in trade talks with the EU, insisting that any potential deal with the bloc should include minimum tariffs of 15-20 percent on every deal with the bloc, the British newspaper reports. "Financial Times", quoted by BTA.
The US president's tougher stance aims to test the threshold at which the EU is willing to make concessions, after weeks of negotiations on a framework agreement that would keep the base tariff of 10 percent on most goods, sources note.
According to people familiar with the negotiations, Trump is also willing to keep sectoral tariffs on the automotive sector at the planned level of 25 percent.
European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič gave an optimistic assessment of his latest talks in Washington to EU ambassadors today, two sources said.
The EU is in a difficult position as the August 1 deadline approaches, when Trump said he would impose a 30 percent tariff on all European imports.
Šefčovič left on Wednesday, July 16, for new talks with Washington. The European Commission, which is responsible for trade for the EU, has prepared to impose possible tariffs on 72 billion euros worth of American goods - from Boeing planes and bourbon to cars - if trade talks with Washington fail.