According to US President Donald Trump, the US and China this week put the framework in place for a "very strong" trade agreement. Now there are cautious signs that there may also be positive news on the way in the negotiations between the EU and the US.
In any case, the EU and the US have agreed to intensify negotiations that will try to avert Trump's tariffs on European goods. This was stated by EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic in connection with a meeting of EU trade ministers on Thursday in Brussels.
- The EU is actively engaged in the negotiations at expert level and at the political level. Yesterday I had another constructive conversation with US Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick. We agree to intensify our engagement at the technical level, says Maros Sefcovic.
The fact that the negotiations are only being intensified at the technical level can be seen as a sign that there are a number of details that need to be clarified before an agreement can be reached at the political level. Maros Sefcovic, however, suggests that there is good will on both the European and American sides to meet to try to find a solution.
- I am in regular contact with the US Secretary of Commerce and the US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, with whom I exchanged text messages just before the start of our meeting today.
- I think we will meet soon in Brussels or at the meetings of the OECD, says Maros Sefcovic.
The OECD is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The OECD has a total of 38 member countries - including the USA and Denmark. The EU also participates in the organisation's work.
Also wants new trade agreements in place
However, the EU Commission is not content with just negotiating trade with the USA. The EU Commission has also chosen to accelerate negotiations with a number of countries on new trade agreements. This sends a signal to Trump that the EU has other potential trading partners than the US.
At the same time, new agreements may be able to remedy a decline in exports to the US if the negotiations end in an abrupt clash with Trump's tariff wall. Sefcovic said last week that he had recently held what he himself calls an "important meeting" with India in an attempt to reach a free trade agreement.
Last week, it was Indonesia's turn to meet with the EU Commission, which negotiates trade agreements on behalf of the EU countries. In addition, the EU Commission wants to conclude agreements with the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia.
Ultimately, however, the EU countries must approve the trade agreements, and this could slow down the EU Commission's attempts to open up more exports to markets other than the US.
For example, the EU Commission has already completed negotiations on trade agreements with Mexico and the so-called Mercosur countries in South America. But the two agreements have not yet been ratified by the EU countries.
Large agricultural countries such as France and Poland are skeptical about opening their markets to agricultural products from South America.
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