EU Tariff Deal With US Still Far Off, Parliament Negotiator Says

The European Parliament’s chief negotiator, Bernd Lange, said progress had been made in talks on an agreement to lift tariffs on US imports, but that a final compromise remained a long way off.

During the second round of negotiations, both sides made progress particularly on safeguard mechanisms and rules for evaluating the agreement. The next meeting is scheduled for 19 May.

The talks are taking place under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has announced an increase in tariffs on cars and trucks from the EU from 15% to 25%. He justified the move by saying the EU was not complying with the terms of a previous agreement.

Several member states are trying to defuse the tensions and are pushing for the swift adoption of legislation to remove tariffs on US manufactured goods and open the market to US agricultural and seafood products. However, even nine months after the agreement was concluded, the European Parliament and member states have still not agreed on the common text needed to implement it.

Lawmakers are calling for stronger safeguards, including the possibility of suspending the agreement if the US fails to comply, or setting time limits on tariff concessions. EU governments are cautious about these proposals.

Tensions over tariffs also affected talks among G7 trade ministers in Paris.

(reuters, max)