BRUSSELS, Belgium: The United States (US) has presented the European Union (EU) with a new trade offer to resolve the ongoing dispute, the European Commission has confirmed, according to German news agency (dpa).
The EU’s executive arm is now examining the document, commission president Ursula von der Leyen said late on Thursday, following an EU summit in Brussels.
“We are ready for an agreement. At the same time, we are preparing for the possibility that no satisfactory agreement will be reached,” von der Leyen said.
Neither she, nor European Council President António Costa, commented publicly on the document’s content.
However, it is unlikely that the 10 per cent tariff on almost all imports introduced by US President Donald Trump can be completely negotiated away under the new US proposal for a framework deal, dpa learned from other summit participants.
Nonetheless, there could be movement on additional US tariffs imposed on car imports, for example.
This would present the EU with the fundamental question whether to accept a new sweeping basic tariff to prevent further escalation in the trade dispute, or whether to rely on its market power to convince Trump to back down. – BERNAMA-dpa