The European Union and the United States are still far from reaching an agreement on tariffs, the French Economy Minister said on April 24, as the bloc seeks to find a way out of trade tensions with Washington.
US President Donald Trump has imposed 10 percent tariffs on most trading partners and has imposed higher tariffs on steel, aluminum and automotive imports.
The EU has not been spared the tariffs, but the highest tariffs imposed on the bloc's goods have been suspended for 90 days. But this suspension will expire at the beginning of July.
"We will not hide the fact that there is still a long way to go before an agreement is reached," French Economy Minister Eric Lombard said during a statement to reporters on the sidelines of meetings in Washington of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
However, he said that talks with American officials were good.
He said that this week he met with the director of the White House National Economic Council, Kevin Hasset, the US Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent.
Lombard stressed that his counterparts want "to move forward as quickly as possible," adding that the Europeans have been described as friends and allies in the context of these talks.
But Lombard said he expects "ups and downs" in the parties' negotiations.
Trump initially imposed tariffs on EU steel and aluminum imports. The European bloc was then part of Trump's reciprocal tariffs, with 20 percent tariffs. These reciprocal tariffs hit most of Washington's trading partners./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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