Countries and international organizations, including the European Union, Canada and Japan, are ramping up high-stakes trade negotiations with the U.S. as the July 9 deadline for a pause on sweeping U.S. tariffs rapidly approaches. However, many nations remain skeptical and uncertain about the outcome.
According to multiple European sources, the EU is increasingly resigned to accepting a 10 percent baseline tariff on goods exported to the U.S., despite earlier hopes of securing lower rates. The shift comes amid warnings from Washington that tariffs on European steel, aluminum and automobiles could jump to as high as 50 percent after the current tariff truce expires.
The EU is still pressing for the rate to be lower than 10 percent, said the European sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
But one of the sources, an EU official, said negotiating the level down has become harder since the U.S. started drawing revenues from its global tariffs. “Ten percent is a sticky issue. We are pressing them, but now they are getting revenues,” said the official.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has made it clear that Washington will not negotiate below the 10 percent threshold of tariffs that cover most goods the EU exports to the U.S.
Meanwhile, European leaders have signaled a willingness to base talks on a model similar to the recent U.S.-UK deal, which retained the 10 percent tariff on British exports while reducing higher levies on steel and cars.
At a livestreamed event hosted by the Financial Times in Berlin, Michael Clauss, adviser to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said that a full trade agreement between the EU and the U.S. before the July deadline is unlikely. Instead, the bloc may aim for an interim deal modeled on the U.S.-UK arrangement, further delaying retaliation against Washington.
Trump, however, remains unsatisfied. He accused the EU earlier this week of not offering a “fair deal.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview Wednesday that Trump’s recent decision to double tariffs had “spurred greater willingness” on the part of European leaders to negotiate.
Tensions are also rising across the northern border. Canada has threatened to hike tariffs by late July on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum, weeks after Trump’s decision to raise levies on those metals to 50 percent. At this week’s G7 summit, both Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed cautious optimism about reaching a bilateral trade agreement.
In Japan, the country’s Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa said during a press conference on Friday that the current state of U.S.-Japan tariff negotiations remains “uncertain” and “unclear.”
He noted that differences persist between the two sides on several issues and that no agreement has been reached on an overall framework. He emphasized Japan’s intention to continue proactive discussions in pursuit of a deal that aligns with Japan’s national interests.
(With input from agencies)
U.S. trade partners voice unease with tariff deadline nearing
