BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Commission dismissed on Monday reports suggesting it was willing to accept a broad U.S. tariff of 10% on EU goods as speculative and said they did not reflect current discussions.
“Negotiations are ongoing, and no agreement has been reached at this stage. The EU has from the start objected to unjustified and illegal U.S. tariffs,” the Commission said in a statement.
German newspaper Handelsblatt had said earlier on Monday that Brussels negotiators were prepared to accept the flat 10% U.S. tariff on most EU imports to avert higher duties on EU cars, drugs and electronics.
The Commission, which negotiates trade deals for the 27-nation EU, responded by saying “reports suggesting that the EU accepts a US tariff of 10% across all our exports are speculative and do not reflect the current state of discussions.”
The next step in negotiations is a planned meeting between European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at this week’s G7 meeting in Canada.
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced wide-ranging tariffs on trade partners, and wants to reduce the U.S. goods trade deficit with the EU, which he has said was “formed in order to screw the United States”.
European Union exporters are currently contending with U.S. tariffs of 50% for steel and aluminium, 25% for cars and car parts and a 10% tariff on most other goods, which could rise in July after a 90-day pause announced by Trump in early April.
Britain accepted a limited bilateral trade agreement in May that retains Trump’s 10% tariffs on British exports, while cutting higher rates for steel and cars. EU trade ministers subsequently said that would not be acceptable for the 27-nation bloc.
However, U.S. officials have said in public and told EU counterparts in private that the 10% flat rate is a minimum it will not drop below for any trading partner.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Benoit van Overstraeten and Nia Williams)
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