AARHUS, Denmark — The European Union wants to strike a trade deal in principle with the United States in time for next week’s deadline that would be along the lines of the agreement London struck with Washington, Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.
“Indeed what we are aiming at is an agreement in principle,” the European Commission president told a news conference on a visit to Denmark. “That is also what the U.K. did.”
However, a detailed agreement was “impossible” in this time frame due to the volume and complexity of EU-U.S. trade, she added.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič was in in Washington D.C. negotiating the deal with his U.S. counterparts.
Von der Leyen underscored that the EU wanted to strike a framework trade deal by July 9, when Trump has threatened to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs of 50 percent on most goods if no deal is reached.
