The trade chief of the European Union (EU) reportedly agreed on the 15th (local time) to accelerate tariff negotiations with the United States.
Maroš Šefčovič, the EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, met with reporters at the EU Trade Ministers' meeting held in Brussels, Belgium, on that day and noted, “I had another constructive conversation with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick the day before,” adding, “We agreed to deepen negotiations at the working level.”
He added, “I also exchanged text messages with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer a little earlier,” stating, “We expect to meet soon, perhaps at a meeting in Brussels or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).”
The EU Trade Ministers' meeting held that day intensively discussed the negotiation strategy with the U.S. Recently, as the U.S. and China accelerated tariff negotiations, there is also optimism among some in the EU regarding reaching a settlement with the U.S.
Michal Baranowski, Vice Minister of the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, who attended the meeting, said, “The U.S. side has shown elements that could ease tensions, which is somewhat optimistic,” adding, “The U.S.-EU negotiations are picking up speed.”
In this context, the European edition of the political media Politico reported that multiple EU officials said the Trump administration in the U.S. sent a letter to the EU Commission expressing its intention regarding a trade agreement this week.
Previously, the Commission’s informal compromise proposal reportedly included potential measures for achieving an agreement, such as easing EU regulations and jointly addressing overproduction from China.
In relation to this, Politico explained that the response from the U.S. was the first positive and concrete reaction provided by the Trump administration during the negotiation process with the EU.
Previously, in response to the activation of U.S. steel tariffs last month, the EU planned to impose retaliatory tariffs on products worth a total of 21 billion euros (about 33 trillion won) but postponed this for 90 days until July 14 due to negotiations with the U.S.
On the 9th, in preparation for a failed negotiation, the U.S. warned of imposing additional tariffs on U.S. aircraft and automobiles worth up to 95 billion euros (about 150 trillion won) as a retaliatory measure against the 10% universal tariff and automobile tariffs, and began a procedure to gather opinions on the detailed list.