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EU dismisses reports that it is ready to accept flat 10% U.S. tariff
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 16, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 16, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
The EU dismisses reports of accepting a 10% U.S. tariff, stating negotiations are ongoing without any agreement.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Commission dismissed on Monday reports suggesting it was willing to accept a broad U.S. tariff of 10% on EU goods as speculative and said they did not reflect current discussions.
"Negotiations are ongoing, and no agreement has been reached at this stage. The EU has from the start objected to unjustified and illegal U.S. tariffs," the Commission said in a statement.
German newspaper Handelsblatt had said earlier on Monday that Brussels negotiators were prepared to accept the flat 10% U.S. tariff on most EU imports to avert higher duties on EU cars, drugs and electronics.
The Commission, which negotiates trade deals for the 27-nation EU, responded by saying "reports suggesting that the EU accepts a US tariff of 10% across all our exports are speculative and do not reflect the current state of discussions."
The next step in negotiations is a planned meeting between European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at this week's G7 meeting in Canada.
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced wide-ranging tariffs on trade partners, and wants to reduce the U.S. goods trade deficit with the EU, which he has said was "formed in order to screw the United States".
European Union exporters are currently contending with U.S. tariffs of 50% for steel and aluminium, 25% for cars and car parts and a 10% tariff on most other goods, which could rise in July after a 90-day pause announced by Trump in early April.
Britain accepted a limited bilateral trade agreement in May that retains Trump's 10% tariffs on British exports, while cutting higher rates for steel and cars. EU trade ministers subsequently said that would not be acceptable for the 27-nation bloc.
However, U.S. officials have said in public and told EU counterparts in private that the 10% flat rate is a minimum it will not drop below for any trading partner.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Benoit van Overstraeten and Nia Williams)
The European Commission dismissed reports of accepting a 10% U.S. tariff as speculative and stated that no agreement has been reached.
EU exporters face U.S. tariffs of 50% on steel and aluminium, 25% on cars and car parts, and a 10% tariff on most other goods.
The next step is a planned meeting between European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the upcoming G7 meeting in Canada.
U.S. officials indicated that the 10% flat rate is a minimum they will not drop below for any trading partner.
The discussions are part of ongoing negotiations to address U.S. tariffs aimed at reducing the trade deficit with the EU, which President Trump has criticized.
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