To ease the escalating trade conflicts with the United States, the European Union is currently considering a procurement proposal of up to 500 billion euros. This proposal aims to reduce the bilateral trade deficit by increasing imports of American natural gas and agricultural products.
According to the EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, in an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday, recent rounds of negotiations between the EU and the US have made preliminary progress. Šefčovič emphasized that the EU will not accept the US’s continued imposition of a 10% tariff on EU goods as a condition for reaching a trade agreement.
He mentioned that when including US services exports to the EU, the actual bilateral trade deficit amounts to around 500 billion euros. The EU intends to swiftly offset this gap by increasing imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and soybeans, among other American goods. However, Šefčovič did not disclose whether the proposal has been formally presented or if there has been a response from the US.
He stressed the need for both parties to work together to achieve a “fair and balanced” agreement. However, he also acknowledged that reaching an agreement acceptable to all EU member states and the European Parliament remains a daunting task.
In addition to bilateral trade issues, Šefčovič expressed the EU’s willingness to cooperate with the US in addressing China’s excess steel and aluminum production capacity. He also highlighted the potential for collaboration in areas such as semiconductors and critical raw material supply chains as additional bargaining chips in the negotiations. He pointed out that joint efforts by the EU and the US could contribute to making substantive progress on various global issues.
President Trump reintroduced the “equal tariffs” policy in April of this year, imposing a minimum 10% tariff on goods from multiple countries, including the EU, and proposing an additional punitive tariff of up to 20% on EU goods. Although some measures have been temporarily suspended, this policy could still be fully implemented by July 2025.
To prevent further escalation of trade tensions, the EU has postponed its plan to impose retaliatory tariffs on American goods worth approximately 210 billion euros until July 14th. EU officials have emphasized that if negotiations collapse, they are prepared to reinitiate relevant countermeasures.
It is reported that the European Commission has been in consultations with member states to establish a unified position on potential concessions and retaliatory measures, in preparation for further negotiations.