EU diplomats briefed on the matter told POLITICO they are expecting a 15 percent U.S. baseline tariff deal before Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline.
“Everyone is quite tense,” said an EU diplomat.
‘They kept coming back’
Trump announced tariffs on 60 trading partners in April, ranging up to 50 percent.
The U.S. president said any deal with the EU countries will have to be one where they “buy down their tariffs, because they’re right now at 30 percent.” In essence, that depends on how willing the bloc is to lower its barriers to American exports, Trump said.
If Trump blocks a deal now in the works, the EU is ready to retaliate, the European diplomats told POLITICO. One measure would be to impose tariffs on €93 billion worth of U.S. goods, which EU countries approved on Thursday.
Last year, the United States exported about $370 billion worth of goods to the EU. A large portion of those, along with some U.S. services exports, could be hit with the EU retaliation.
