Our Brussels correspondent Hendrik Kafsack reports that there will be no quick solution to customs conflicts with the United States even after President Donald Trump, which is called up by President Donald Trump. Commercial commissioner Maroš Šefčovič took the impression of his short visit to Washington on Monday, he says. Šefčovič met there for “several hours of discussions”, as it says, with Commerce Minister Howard Lutnick and the US trade officer Jamieson Greer. The commission sold the meeting on Tuesday as the start of new negotiations after the customs break, but made it clear that the commission had not submitted a new offer. It was primarily about putting on how a possible deal can be achieved, it is said. So far, the US government has not yet contributed much to this. “The EU has delivered, now the US has to define its position,” emphasized a commission spokesman. Negotiations are not a one -way street. Without great efforts on both sides, the 90-day window will close with no result. Šefčovič repeated the offer to reduce mutual tariffs for industrial goods to zero. It was also about non -tariff trade barriers. He also offered to work together to reduce the dependence on China in medication. Lastnick announced in parallel to the talks with the EU that the United States would improve tariffs on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors within the next two months. Trump had already threatened a “high customs” on medication last week. In addition to Germany in the EU, this would particularly affect Ireland. Lutnick also made it clear that the United States wanted to negotiate these tariffs as well as the tariffs of 25 percent already imposed on steel and aluminum as well as cars. Negotiations with the EU would thus be limited to the special tariffs imposed by Trump on April 2 to most other EU imports. This coincides with the impressions previously won by the Commission. Trump had reduced the special tariffs of 20 percent after market turbulence in the middle of last week for the EU and other countries – but not for China – for 90 days to ten percent. The EU had exposed its counter-tariffs that were resolved in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs. Negotiations between the EU and the USA should now continue at the technical level. There are currently no further meetings between the Commission and the American government, a spokesman said.
