US President Donald Trump on Friday estimated the likelihood of Washington reaching an agreement with the European Union to reduce import tariffs at 50%. In an effort to reduce his country’s trade deficit, Trump has vowed to impose punitive tariff increases on dozens of countries if they fail to reach an agreement with Washington by August 1.
“I would say we have a 50/50 chance, maybe even less, but still a 50/50 chance of getting a deal with the EU,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Scotland.
His administration promised “90 deals in 90 days” as it delayed the imposition of higher tariffs in April, but has so far unveiled only five agreements, including with Britain, Japan and the Philippines.
The 27 EU countries have allowed the European Commission to focus on finding a deal that would avoid high US tariffs, with Trump threatening tariffs of 30% without a deal by the end of the month.
Brussels and Washington appear to be inching closer to an agreement that would see the US impose a basic 15% tariff on EU goods and possible exemptions for critical sectors, several diplomats told AFP.
However, on Thursday EU states backed a package of retaliatory measures on US goods worth 93 billion euros, which will come into force on August 7 if the talks fail.
Trump said most of the deals he sought were already in place, though he made clear he was talking about sending letters imposing tariffs on U.S. trading partners rather than negotiating free trade agreements.
Tariffs levied on other countries are ultimately passed on to American consumers in the form of sales taxes because they are paid by importers, not the country supplying the goods or services.
“I don’t want to hurt countries, but we’ll send out a letter within a week and it will basically say, ‘You’ll pay 10%, you’ll pay 15%, you’ll pay maybe less.’ I don’t know,” Trump told reporters.
Trump said his negotiators were working “hard” with EU officials, but added that “we haven’t had much luck” in talks with Canada, which Trump has threatened with a 35 percent tariff.
Trump told reporters that the United States and China, Washington’s third-largest commodity trading partner this year, have “limitations to the deal.”
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