EU readies new plan to advance U.S. trade deal
The EU and the US are moving on to the next stage of trade cooperation (Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman)
The European Union is preparing a new plan to advance implementation of its summer trade agreement with the United States, proposing a roadmap across five key areas, including tariffs and technical standards, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on Nov. 13.
The initiative coincides with an upcoming meeting between EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and his American counterparts scheduled for late November, the agency noted.
The EU step is a response to a U.S. demand earlier this year, when Washington sent Brussels proposals for a legally binding plan to review European regulations that, according to sources, harm American business.
Bloomberg sources said the forthcoming plan, not yet shown to the United States, will cover five key areas. Among them are tariffs and market access, as the EU seeks rate reductions for a range of goods, including wine and spirits. The plan also aims at dialogue on technical standards, digital trade, nontariff barriers and other trade complaints.
Cooperation on steel and aluminum will be considered separately, where the EU wants to join the United States in addressing global overproduction. Currently, European exports of these metals face 50% duties, and Brussels fears such practices risk undermining the agreed 15% limit. The European Commission advocates introducing quotas that would allow part of the export to qualify for reduced tariffs.
Sources also noted the plan includes creating a working group on economic security focused on investment screening, export controls, government procurement and supply of critical raw materials. The document will also monitor EU fulfillment of promises on strategic purchases of liquefied natural gas and microchips, as stipulated in the Trump agreement.
EU diplomats are expected to review the plan this week, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick will arrive in Brussels on Nov. 24 for a meeting with European trade ministers, Bloomberg added.
EU-U.S. trade agreement
The EU and the United States reached a trade agreement during a July 27 meeting in Scotland between U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. As a result, the EU now faces 15% tariffs on most goods exported to the United States, including automobiles. Trump said tariffs on steel and aluminum will remain as before.
Trump also noted the EU agreed to purchase $750 billion in energy resources, invest an additional $600 billion in the United States, open markets of EU countries to trade with the United States at zero tariffs, and buy numerous units of military equipment.
The deal was reached less than a week before Trump's Aug. 1 deadline. Earlier, the U.S. president intended to impose 50% tariffs on almost all EU goods.
On Aug. 5, a European Commission spokesperson said after reaching an agreement with President Donald Trump, the European Union is suspending two packages of countermeasures in response to U.S. tariffs for six months.
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