U.S. seeks limited trade deal with E.U. as Trump's deadline approaches

Source: Washington Post

July 6, 2025 at 7:00 a.m. EDT


BRUSSELS — With only three days remaining before President Donald Trump’s self-imposed July 9 deadline, U.S. and European negotiators continue to haggle over a skeletal trade deal that would defer a resolution of their toughest commercial disputes. The prospective accord, which would spare European goods the 50 percent tariffs that Trump has threatened to impose, is one of a relative handful of deals the administration is set to finalize by Wednesday.

Any European bargain might prove modest. But Trump’s decision to pursue his goals by ignoring the global trading rules that American leaders helped to write marks a significant break with decades of U.S. policy.

Europe and the United States for years were aligned in support of the World Trade Organization’s rules-based trading system. But as European and American diplomats jousted in recent weeks, they struggled to overcome sharp differences over the best way to settle economic disputes, organize the global economy and confront a rising China.

“We think this is economic madness on the part of the Trump administration. We don’t believe it helps the U.S. economy. We don’t believe it helps the E.U. economy. We don’t believe it helps wider global supply chains or the overall global economy,” said a senior European Commission official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment with candor.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/07/06/us-eu-trade-deal-talks/