BRUSSELS: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that Washington was making progress on tariff negotiations with the European Union, with talks planned between the bloc’s top trade negotiator and his American counterpart.
EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic’s talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday afternoon come after Brussels said it was readying to pull the trigger on more than $100 billion in counter tariffs should negotiations fail.
US President Donald Trump has threatened a 30 percent levy on European goods if the transatlantic allies do not reach an agreement by August 1.
“The EU’s primary focus is on achieving a negotiated outcome with the US,” European Commission trade spokesman Olof Gill said.
“Intensive technical and political-level contact is ongoing,” he added.
Bessent, who is among top US officials engaging with key trading partners, sounded an optimistic note in a Wednesday interview on Bloomberg Television.
“Talks are going better than they had been,” he said. “I think that we are making good progress with the EU.”
Bessent also appeared to play down the EU’s planned retaliation: “I think it’s a negotiating tactic, and it’s what I would do if I were in their place.”
Sefcovic will speak with Lutnick just before the commission gives an update to EU capitals on talks with the United States, Gill said.
“While our priority is negotiations, we continue in parallel to prepare for all outcomes, including potential additional countermeasures,” Gill added.
The retaliation agreed so far would take effect August 7 if there is no deal, he said.
Wednesday’s talks will be the first EU-US discussion at a political level since Sefcovic last week jetted to Washington to meet Lutnick, alongside US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Kevin Hassett, director of the US National Economic Council.
The EU has sought to tackle trade tensions with Washington through talks, while drawing up detailed plans for retaliation if needed.
Member states have backed the commission in pushing for a deal before firing off countermeasures — but key powers France and Germany have hardened their tone recently in calling for a muscular response should talks fail.
The EU has cooked up two sets of retaliatory tariffs on US goods: one put forward this month that targets 72 billion euros ($84 billion) of US products; and another worth 21 billion euros, in response to Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs.
Now these lists will be merged into a single one, Gill said, to take effect August 7 if the talks do not succeed.
The combined list will be submitted to EU member states for approval.
European diplomats said last week the commission was also preparing a list of proposed restrictions on US services companies — including tech and financial services.