The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, went to Scotland on Saturday, before a meeting scheduled for Sunday afternoon with US President Donald Trump, commission spokesperson said. According to European officials, both parties are close to a commercial agreement.
Present in Scotland for a few days devoted to golf and bilateral meetings, Donald Trump said on his arrival on Friday evening that he was delighted to meet Ursula von der Leyen, which he described as “highly respected” leaders.
He reaffirmed that there was, according to him, “one in two chance” that the United States and the European Union at 27 members reach a commercial framework agreement, adding that Brussels wished to “conclude an urgency agreement”.
If such an agreement was born, it would be the most important commercial treaty concluded by its administration to date, exceeding the agreement of $ 550 billion signed with Japan earlier in the week.
The White House has not published any detail concerning the coming meeting or on the terms of the agreement under negotiation.
On Thursday, the European Commission said that a trade solution negotiated with the United States was at hand, even if EU member states voted for the approval of counter-tricgers out of 93 billion euros ($ 109 billion) of American products in the event that discussions fail.
To achieve an agreement, Trump said the EU should “reduce” this rate rate, without providing details.
According to European diplomats, a potential agreement between Washington and Brussels would likely include a generalized rate of 15 % on European products imported into the United States, modeled on the agreement concluded with Japan, as well as a 50 % tariff on European steel and aluminum.
This rate of 15 % would represent half of customs duties of 30 % that Trump threatened to impose on European products from 1is august.
It is still unknown if Washington will agree to exempt the EU from sectoral prices already announced or pending concerning the automobile, pharmaceutical products and other goods.
By combining goods, services and investments, the EU and the United States are by far the largest business partners with each other. The American Chamber of Commerce in Brussels warned in March that any conflict would jeopardize 9.5 billions of dollars in the most important commercial relationship in the world.
