EU and US closer to finalising trade deal text as Washington sends back suggestions

The European Commission stated that substantial progress has been made in finalizing the joint EU-EU statement on trade. Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said they have received a text from the US with suggestions, and this means the finalisation of the text of the trade agreement is getting closer. The EU side is fully focused on finalizing the text.

The US and the EU reached a political agreement ending the trade dispute between the two blocs more than two weeks ago, when US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met in Scotland. The parties agreed that the US will set 15 % tariffs on EU goods, and Europe also committed to purchasing energy worth 750 billion euros from the US and to buy weapons for further 600 billion. But the two sides are making contradictory claims about the content and scope of the deal struck.

The joint US-EU statement is highly important because it will set technical details and tariff exceptions. It will contain, for example, the list of US goods exempt from tariffs when imported to the EU.

Earlier reports said Washington and Brussels discussed the issue of non-tariff barriers: the EU refuses, for example, to amend its digital regulations, the Digital Services Act, which angered the US. The Trump administration criticized those rules, saying they limit the freedom of speech. The statement was expected to be released before the first of August.

The EU Commission spokesman added the Commission is not concerned that the US president has not yet signed the executive order on car imports, reducing the tariffs from 27,5 to 15 percent.

“The US has made political commitments to us in this respect, and we look forward to them being implemented,” Olof Gill said.