Report: EU Officials See Little Progress in Tariff Talks With US

The European Union reportedly expects most of the U.S. tariffs to remain in place after a Monday (April 14) meeting between EU and United States officials made little progress.

The meeting saw the officials remain divided on several trade issues, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (April 15), citing unnamed sources.

U.S. officials said the 20% reciprocal tariffs that have been paused for 90 days and other tariffs that target cars and metal would not be removed outright, while EU officials said their countermeasures will be implemented after the 90 days and that other measures will be added, according to the report.

In addition, the U.S. officials rejected an EU proposal that the two sides remove tariffs on industrial goods, including cars; showed little interest in an EU proposal that it boost its purchases of U.S. liquefied natural gas as an alternative to tariffs; and insisted that any agreement lower the EU’s non-tariff barriers like digital regulations and food standards, per the report.

It was reported Friday (April 11) that while the U.S.-initiated tariffs have been paused for three months and the negotiations have begun, Brussels was bracing for a fresh escalation in the standoff after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen indicated the bloc would not hesitate to retaliate if negotiations fail.

“We are prepared to deploy our most powerful trade measures if we see no other way forward,” von der Leyen said in an interview with the Financial Times.

Two days earlier, on Wednesday (April 9), the European Commission said EU member states voted in favor of collecting tariffs on U.S. goods as a countermeasure against those the U.S. imposed on EU steel and aluminum.

“The EU considers U.S. tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy,” the commission said in a statement. “The EU has stated its clear preference to find negotiated outcomes with the U.S., which would be balanced and mutually beneficial.”

On the same day, President Donald Trump said he authorized a 90-day pause and lowered reciprocal tariffs to 10% for 75 countries that had contacted representatives of the U.S. to negotiate a solution to trade issues and have not “retaliated in any way, shape or form against the United States.”