US Seeks Pledge On Easing Import Norms. EU Not Keen To Play Ball
The US is mounting pressure on the European Union to extract a commitment on a rollback of imports rules that Washington wants to be quashed, the Financial Times reported.
The Trump administration’s reported move comes a year after the US and EU reached a deal to reduce the tariffs imposed by Washington.
In August, EU and the US reached a broad trade agreement which facilitated duty cuts on certain industrial good and farm products. As a reciprocal gesture, the US lowered tariffs slapped on many EU goods to 15%.
The US and the EU had pledged to reduce or eliminate non-tariff barriers at that time.
According to the FT report, which cited three people, Washington has put forth a proposal to the European Union aides. The US has mooted the idea of EU making public pledges on import rules considered unviable by it, coinciding with a year since the August deal was struck.
The US has been wary of EU rules related to car safety and regulations binding food and agricultural products.
The proposal has reportedly put Brussels in a fix as the EU is not keen to accommodate the US demands.
The report quoted a top European Commission aide as saying though talks with the US were always happening, it did not entail a pledge on future commitments.
“We are looking to mark the one-year anniversary by showing how far we have come,” the commission officials reportedly said.
It has instead told the European parliament that a list of suggested tariff reductions it expects from the US was shared with Washington.
The list includes including wine and spirits, some cheeses and machinery and would cover €115bn in annual EU exports to the US, the officials said.
The US has put pressure on trading partners in the Trump administration’s second term and has resorted to tariff threats as a tool to extract geopolitical and political gains from its trading partners.
The move is also surprising considering that the Trump administration is reportedly facing domestic backlash ahead of mid-term elections in November. The Middle East war has already stoked inflationary concerns, causing widespread voter disenchantment ahead of the polls, in which the Republicans are facing giant odds as per most surveys.
Last year itself, the Trump administration had given indications about its concerns about the trade deal. It has flagged concerns that Brussels has acted slowly on rules and regulations that impacted US goods.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer had told financial times in no uncertain terms that the deal does “not solve every problem” between the two large markets.
The deal statement of 2025 had incorporated various pledges to improve market access.
Trump has also repeatedly mocked that arrangement, saying the EU brings “up with rules and regulations that are just designed for one reason — that you can’t sell your product in those countries”.
Washington officials point out that the EU has the largest trade deficit in goods of any trading bloc with the US, at $226.46 billion. Brussels flags Washington’s $203 surplus in services.
