EU willing to accept US trade agreement with exemptions — Bloomberg

The European Union (EU) is prepared to approve a trade agreement with the United States that would impose a 10% tariff on many of the bloc’s exports. But the EU demands reduced rates for key sectors including pharmaceuticals, alcohol, semiconductors, and commercial aircraft, Bloomberg reports.

As the news agency states, the EU is also pushing the US to implement quotas and exemptions that would effectively reduce existing 25% duties on automobiles and auto parts, as well as lower the 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum.

The EU must reach an agreement with the United States by July 9. Otherwise, tariffs on nearly all the bloc's exports to the US will jump to 50%.

This week, a European Union delegation will visit Washington for negotiations. Officials are considering several possible scenarios. They include reaching an agreement with an acceptable level of asymmetry, an unbalanced US offer that would be unacceptable to the EU, or an extension of the negotiation period. However, Donald Trump could reject all of these options and impose higher tariffs instead. In response, the bloc is preparing countermeasures, Bloomberg notes.