US trade deal eludes Europe days out from Trump’s deadline

5/7/2025 7:25

European Union negotiators have failed so far to achieve a breakthrough in trade negotiations with the Trump administration and may now seek to extend the status quo to avoid tariff hikes, six EU diplomats briefed on the talks said on Friday.



The EU had already dropped hopes of a locking in a comprehensive trade agreement ahead of Trump’s July 9 deadline, but following talks in Washington it was not clear if it would even secure a lighter agreement in principle.



The Commission told EU envoys on Friday afternoon that it believed the United States was willing to "pause" the current tariffs in place for partners with which it reached an initial agreement, with possible tariff relief later.



Without a preliminary agreement, broad U.S. tariffs on most imports would rise from their current 10% to the rate set out by President Donald Trump on April 2. In the EU's case that would be 20%.



The Commission said that at one point the United States had mooted a 17% tariff on EU agri-food imports, the sources said.