Germany notes progress in EU-US trade tensions
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed optimism on Wednesday that EU and US negotiators are making progress in talks aimed at resolving the transatlantic trade dispute.
Greeting French President Emmanuel Macron for a working dinner in Berlin, Merz said: "We have been hearing in the last few minutes that there could possibly be decisions," News.Az reports citing foreign media.
According to the Financial Times newspaper, both sides are on the verge of concluding a trade agreement that would impose 15-percent tariffs on European imports, similar to a deal between the United States and Japan.
Macron said: "We have been in constant contact... with our other European colleagues and with the president of the European Commission to monitor, drive and coordinate our response today to the tariff offensive that has been launched."
He emphasised the European shared desire "to provide stability and have the lowest possible tariffs, but also, of course, to be respected as the partners that we are".
US President Donald Trump has threatened a 30-percent levy on European goods if the transatlantic allies do not reach an agreement by August 1.
The EU has sought to tackle the trade tensions through talks, while drawing up detailed plans for retaliation if needed.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that Washington was making progress on the tariff negotiations, with talks planned between the bloc's top trade negotiator and his American counterpart.
EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic's talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick came after Brussels said it was getting ready to pull the trigger on more than $100 billion in counter-tariffs should negotiations fail.
Bessent sounded an optimistic note on Bloomberg Television. "Talks are going better than they had been," he said. "I think that we are making good progress with the EU."
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