Brussels wants to increase purchases of American goods by €50 billion to address the “problem” of trade relations with the United States.
This was stated by the EU’s chief negotiator, European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, in an interview with the Financial Times.
High tariffs are set to take effect in early July for the EU and a number of countries, prompting the European Union to act swiftly to avoid a full-scale transatlantic trade war.
According to Šefčovič, the US and the EU have made progress following several rounds of personal and phone negotiations after President Donald Trump imposed, and then suspended, 20% tariffs on goods from the European Union. He added that “his ambition” remains to reach a “balanced and fair” agreement with the White House.
Šefčovič noted that the key argument he presented to US Trade Representative Jameson Greer and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick was the consideration of US exports of services to the EU, which would reduce the overall trade deficit with Europe to just about €50 billion.
He stated that this deficit could quickly be addressed through agreements to purchase more American gas and agricultural products.
“If we consider the €50 billion deficit a problem, I believe we can really… solve this issue very quickly by purchasing liquefied natural gas, some agricultural products like soybeans, or in other areas,” Šefčovič said.
“It is very important that, in my view, we understand each other a little better now, their position, their motives. And I think they understand us a bit better too,” he added.
However, he warned that it would be “very difficult” to reach an agreement that would be “unequivocally beneficial and acceptable to our member states and the European Parliament.”
On April 2, Trump imposed a 10% additional minimum tariff on almost all countries, while proposing additional “reciprocal” tariffs for some trade partners, including 20% for the EU. Later, Trump suspended the additional “reciprocal” measures, giving partners 90 days to negotiate.
