EU-US trade talks resume in Brussels

European Union trade ministers urged their United States counterparts to implement more of the July EU-US trade agreement, including cutting tariffs on EU steel and lifting duties on goods, such as wine and spirits, during high-level meetings in Brussels, Belgium on Monday.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were in the EU's de facto capital for discussions with EU commissioners and industry leaders, the first since the six-week US government shutdown that began in early October.

An EU insider on the talks told The Guardian newspaper: "We need to keep it focused, what we don't want is individual countries going up to them and demanding deals on this, this and that."

Brussels and Washington struck a deal in the summer under which most EU exports would face a 15-percent US levy, but both sides are seeking additional concessions.

The EU is pressing the US to cut its 50 percent duties on steel and aluminum, while Washington is urging Brussels to scale back green and digital rules, reported Agence France-Presse.

"We also recognize that more work lies ahead, especially on steel and derivatives, where we seek both to reduce tariffs and to confront global overcapacity together," European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic told reporters.

Sefcovic played down expectations of any immediate breakthroughs with his US counterparts.

"I think today, it's not about negotiations, it's about a stocktaking exercise. And I think this is also about the political assessment of EU-US bilateral relations," he said.

In August, the US added 407 product categories to its list of items deemed steel and aluminum "derivative products", making them subject to higher tariffs.

Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, said the meetings would be an opportunity to "stabilize trade relations between Europe and US".

Several EU ministers stressed that steel is a priority.

"We have to have the normal agreement on steel and aluminum, and work on it. We have to implement swiftly what was agreed back in August," Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said.

Poland's Undersecretary of State Michal Baranowski, a senior trade official, said: "Getting steel tariffs to 15 percent is part of implementing our joint statement. It's very much in the spirit that the joint statement was prepared."

The US is complaining that the EU's legislative timetable is too slow, reported Euronews. EU lawmakers will vote on the text in January, with a common version agreed with member states expected in March or April, which is much longer than the US administration's preferred pace.

jonathan@mail.chinadailyuk.com