The European Union still has the hope of negotiating an agreement with the United States during the meeting scheduled for July 27 in Scotland, while the deadline of August 1 approach.
Brussels believes in common ground on customs duties. This Friday, July 25, the president of the European Commission, the EU, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that he had agreed with American president Donald Trump of a meeting on Sunday in Scotland to discuss the American customs duties of 30% on European imports.
After a “Good telephone exchange” With Donald Trump, the two leaders agreed to see themselves in Scotland in order to “Discuss transatlantic trade relations”said the head of the European executive on the social network X. Donald Trump had already planned to go there for a stay mixing golf and diplomacy.
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The European Union still has the hope of negotiating a trade agreement with the United States before August 1, a deadline from which the American president threatens to impose customs taxes of 30% on all imports from Europe. Donald Trump estimated Friday at «50-50» the chances of concluding an agreement with the European Union. “We work very diligently with Europe”He said before going to Scotland. Thursday, a spokesperson for the European Commission said that an agreement was at “Handsome”.
While European leaders already thought of an nearby agreement, Donald Trump had taken them short on July 12 by brandishing this threat of customs duties of 30% on all European products in early August. Negotiations have been taking place since to avoid these measures which would plunge these two giants from the world economy in a substantial commercial dispute.
15% customs surcharge on European exports
According to several European sources, the agreement under negotiation provides for customs from 15% on European exports for the United States, with exemptions in particular on aeronautics, spirits or certain drugs. A separate agreement concerns steel. Imports from Europe would be supervised by quotas and any overtaking would be taxed up to 50%, according to diplomats. This project of global agreement, which resembles that announced between the United States and Japan in the middle of the week, remains suspended in the green light from the American president. He had already rejected a previous version more favorable to the EU, with customs duties set at 10%.
And in the event of the failure of the negotiations, the Europeans announced Thursday that they had put the last hand to possible reprisals: a list of American goods which would be taxed for a total of 93 billion euros, from August 7 and in several stages.
