GERMANY’S MERZ VOWS TO SUPPORT TRADE DEAL WITH TRUMP – A quick deal seems to be the preferred option for most officials and diplomats
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said ahead of an EU summit in Brussels that his government would support the Commission in its efforts to reach a trade agreement with the United States.
European Union leaders are to tell the European Commission whether they want to reach a quick trade agreement with the United States on terms that favour Washington or keep fighting for a better deal.
A quick deal seems to be the preferred option for most, officials and diplomats said, as the EU can then seek to address the unfavourable bias with some rebalancing measures of its own.
The Commission, which negotiates trade agreements on behalf of the EU, will ask leaders of the EU’s 27 members meeting in Brussels how they want to respond to President Donald Trump’s July 9 deadline for a deal, now less than two weeks away.
The bloc has said it is striving for a mutually beneficial agreement, but as Washington looks set to stick to its 10% across-the-board tariffs on most EU goods and threatens higher rates with prolonged talks, EU diplomats said a growing number of EU countries were now favouring a quick resolution.
