With just days to go before President Donald Trump’s self-imposed July 9 trade deadline, European Union negotiators are scrambling and failing to lock down even a limited trade agreement with the U.S., according to five EU diplomats familiar with the tense back-and-forth.
Initial hopes of finalizing a comprehensive trade pact have already been abandoned. Now, officials are simply trying to avoid a new wave of tariffs that could further strain transatlantic economic ties.
After a fresh round of discussions in Washington, EU diplomats admitted that not only had a full deal slipped out of reach, but even a “light” agreement in principle remained uncertain. The lack of progress has left European leaders considering a desperate Plan B: extending the current trade status quo in hopes of buying more time and avoiding punitive tariffs.
“The mood is shifting from hopeful to damage control,” one diplomat reportedly said.
The stakes are high. Trump has hinted at steep tariff increases if the EU fails to meet his trade terms by the deadline, part of his “America First” push to pressure allies into reshaped economic arrangements. With political pressure rising on both sides of the Atlantic, the next few days could define the future of U.S.-EU trade relations and ripple across global markets.
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