On Monday 24 November in Brussels, the EU Trade Ministers will receive the US Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and the US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, for a working lunch on transatlantic relations. The stakes in these discussions are high: the European Union wants to move towards further tariff reductions in the coming weeks.
A number of diplomats explained on Friday 21 November that this will be largely a question of the EU showing that it is fulfilling its share of the bargain. “We’re well aware that they [the Americans] may think we’re not always the fastest, but we’re actually moving quite quickly”, explained one of them.
In the next few days, the EU Council is expected to approve the regulation aimed at eliminating tariffs on a series of American products (see EUROPE 13697/4).
The ministers therefore want to make it clear to the US administration that it must also respect the terms of the agreement and, under no circumstances, impose new tariffs on European products, particularly in the context of economic security investigations.
Steel and aluminium products are at the heart of the issues. The United States is preparing to further extend the list of steel and aluminium products subject to a prohibitive 50% tariff. However, “adding new derivatives to the list runs counter to the joint declaration and its implementation”, insisted a European diplomat.
In addition to this major issue, the EU also wants to submit a new list of European products to the US administration, to be considered for exemption from tariffs. The list should include products that are sensitive for certain Member States, such as wines and spirits for France.
China. The other major topic at the ministers’ meeting was economic relations with Beijing. In recent weeks, the European Commission has won some concessions after China imposed various export restrictions on strategic products and technologies. Not everything has yet been resolved, and there is a long way to go towards a healthy relationship based on the rules of world trade.
In concrete terms, the Netherlands should be sharing its experience with the company - owned by a Chinese group - Nexperia. In recent days, tensions have eased slightly (see EUROPE 13756/10), but Chinese restrictions persist in the strategic sectors of semi-conductors and rare earths.
India. As is customary, the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, will provide Member States with the latest information on current negotiations on free trade agreements (FTAs). India is of particular interest to the EU27.
The European Commission has set itself the target of concluding negotiations on the FTA with New Delhi before the end of the year. However, according to one source, it is more plausible that the talks could end in late January.
Russia. At an ‘any other business’ meeting, a group of seven countries (Sweden, Germany, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland) will present a note calling for the imposition of additional tariffs on Russian and Belarusian products (see EUROPE 13747/20). (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)