The US government has just proposed a new proposal to the European Union (EU) to maintain a basic tax rate of 10% for all goods from the EU, with an exception for some sensitive industries such as aviation and strong alcohol. This information was revealed by an EU diplomat and a national official in an exchange with Politico.
Earlier, President Donald Trump's administration announced that he would extend the time limit for re -application of a comprehensive tax rate until August 1. After this time, the tax rate will return to the application level on April 2 for countries that have not reached a new trade agreement with the US.
From August 1, South Korea and Japan will face 25% tax - these are the first countries to receive a letter of new tax notice from the US.
EU Trade Commissioner, Maroš šefčovič, is currently actively exchanging with the Washington administration, especially after the telephone on Sunday between President Trump and the European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen. The two EU diplomats said Mr. šefčovič informed the EU ambassadors and said that the European Commission did not expect to receive one of the aforementioned tax letters from the US.
However, the trade negotiation process is still not stable and is largely dependent on Mr. Trump's final decision. Washington has not yet made any commitment of tax exemption for sensitive industries such as cars, steel, aluminum or pharmaceuticals - something the EU has proposed many times. However, countries like France, Italy and Ireland are expected to be satisfied if there is exemption for aviation and alcoholic beverages.
The White House spokesman, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed on the second day that a executive decree will be issued to officially turn the extension of the taxppon.
Before the decree was published, the EU was still operating under the old time on July 8 and steadfastly the goal of reaching an agreement with the US before Wednesday.
Irish Trade Minister Simon Harris, on Monday night, also confirmed that "we can expect the extension of the tariff status until August 1, in order to create more time for the EU and the US to reach an agreement in principle."
However, the EU is currently facing an awkward situation: accepting disproportionate in trade relations with Washington or continuing to face unexpected changes from the Trump administration. During the second night meeting - described by diplomats as gloomy - Brussels expressed concerns because they have not received any guarantee from the US about not having extra sudden changes related to tax policy.
The European Commission refused to comment, only said that "negotiations are still happening."
