European lawmaker Bernd Lange, responsible for the European Parliament’s negotiations on the EU-U.S. trade deal, told POLITICO he believed the Trump administration’s announcement made a final deal more likely.
Lange noted that the U.S. administration had scrapped 50 percent tariffs on many steel derived items, bringing some, like motorcycles, to the agreed 15 percent levels. In other cases, however, a special 25 percent rate applied.
“The US is increasingly adopting a stance of not further breaching the Scotland Deal,” said the EU lawmaker. But, he added, “we wanted a little bit more, so let’s see.”
The White House also confirmed that a 15 percent tariff applied to pharmaceutical imports from the EU, in line with the Turnberry deal, and not the 100 percent tariff applied to products from elsewhere.
Olof Gill, the European Commission’s deputy chief spokesperson, said the Commission was assessing the announcement.
“We will continue to work towards reducing tariffs,” said Gill. “Our priority remains to preserve a stable and predictable transatlantic trading environment, in full respect of the commitments agreed.”