The European Union argues that it is negotiating with the US on duties, could be extended beyond the deadline set by US President Donald Trump on July 9, although the speed of talks has made progress in the last week.

An agreement on the Authorities until July 9th is considered as the best possible scenario for the EU, which will allow further talks on the processing of the details, the Bloomberg news agency notes. The US is expected to respond to the last round of negotiations in the coming days and provide clarity about the next steps.

The two sides would like to close a deal before the July deadline, when Washington would hit almost all exports of the block with 50%duties, probably causing retaliation. The EU estimates that the duties adopted by Trump now cover 380 billion euros ($ 434 billion), or about 70% of its exports to the US.

EU trade leader Maros Sefsovic is making regular telephone calls with US Minister of Commerce Howard Lutnik and US Commercial Representative Jameson Green, after the partners agreed to expedite them.

A European Commission spokesman, which handles EU commercial issues, did not respond immediately to Bloomberg’s request for commentary.

The Commission informed Member States on the status of talks earlier this week.

Thorough discussions

The two sides have thorough discussions on critical areas – such as steel and aluminum, cars, medicinal products, semiconductors and aircraft – said people with anonymity in Bloomberg with knowledge of negotiations.

They even warned that while the negotiations are held in a positive climate, they remain harsh. The EU believes that the US is seeking unilateral concessions and any agreement will probably be asymmetric for the benefit of Washington.

Because of this, the block intensifies preparations for countermeasures, including actions that could exceed duties. The Commission will consult with the Member States to consider strategic areas in which the US is based on the EU.

As part of the proposals with the US at the end of last month, the EU offered to gradually work to achieve zero duties in cars, industrial products and non -sensitive agricultural products, examining quotas as intermediate steps, Bloomberg said earlier. These negotiations have now accelerated.

The focus industries have already been hit by US duties or provided for future contributions. The EU has proposed to deepen co -operation with the US in these areas as part of a previous proposal he shared with the US last week. The two sides also seek to work together on financial security.

Countermeasures

Along with current talks with the Trump government, the EU will continue to prepare countermeasures if the negotiations do not lead to a satisfactory result.

The EU has approved duties on US products worth 21 billion euros in response to Trump’s contributions to metals that can be applied quickly. They target politically sensitive US states and include products such as soybeans from Louisiana, homeland of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, as well as agricultural products, poultry and motorcycles.

The block also prepares an additional list of tariffs on US products worth 95 billion euros in response to Trump duties in the automotive industry. They will target industrial products, including Boeing aircraft, American -made cars and Burbon.