Recently, the first exchange of negotiation documents officially opened the tariff negotiations between the United States and Europe.

After the unexpected reduction in tariffs between China and the United States, and the announcement of an agreement between the UK and the US, tariff negotiations between the European Union and the United States have finally officially begun! On May 16th, it was reported that after weeks of deadlock, the US and the EU have finally exchanged negotiation documents covering a wide range of areas from tariffs to digital trade and investment opportunities. However, the EU has made it clear that they will not accept a tariff compromise similar to the one between the US and the UK. The EU Trade Minister explicitly stated that the recent agreement between the US and the UK to retain a 10% tariff is not a template for the EU. Previously, Wall Street News mentioned that on the 8th local time, the UK and the US had reached an agreement on tariff trade terms. However, the 10% benchmark tariff is still in effect. Sweden's Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa stated: "We are not satisfied with such an agreement," and the US should "expect retaliatory measures." An EU official said, "A 10% tax rate is not even considered an agreement." EU rejects US-UK tariffs, threatens retaliation Compared to the progress with the US and other countries, the EU, consisting of a group of 27 countries, is clearly lagging behind. Faced with weeks of deadlock, the Trump administration has put pressure on the EU. According to reports, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer privately warned European diplomats that if Brussels continues to refuse to provide written proposals, the EU should be prepared for the possibility of Trump reinstating tariffs on April 2nd. This warning seems to have had an effect, as the EU was forced to shift from being a passive party which Trump referred to as "exploiting the US," to actively proposing solutions. However, the EU has already made it clear that they will not accept the template of the 10% tariff agreement reached by the US and the UK, and have proposed retaliation measures. The European Commission proposed a retaliatory tariff plan of up to 95 billion euros last week, targeting US products such as Boeing aircraft, cars, and Bourbon whiskey. Focus and Red Lines in Tariff Negotiations Currently, Trump maintains an additional 25% tariff on EU steel, aluminum, and cars. On April 2nd, Trump announced "tit-for-tat tariffs" measures, significantly increasing tariffs on all European imports, but a week later, reducing them to a benchmark 10% tariff while giving a 90-day negotiation period. The EU has suspended 21 billion euros of retaliatory tariffs due to negotiations, and reduced the 20% of "tit-for-tat tariffs" to 10%, extending the deadline to July 8th of this year for negotiations. According to reports, Sabine Weyand, the EU's senior trade official, said the EU needs to act calmly and not succumb to the US's desire for a "quick victory." She pointed out that some US tariffs may be retained, especially in industries such as steel and car manufacturing that the US hopes to bring back. EU Trade Specialist Maro efovi hopes to reduce the EU-US trade deficit by purchasing more US natural gas, weapons, and products from the Shenzhen Agricultural Power Group. He plans to meet with US Trade Representative Greer at the OECD Ministerial Meeting in Paris next month. The US has repeatedly raised concerns about EU value-added taxes, digital service regulations, food standards, and tariffs on certain US goods. Former US Chief Trade Negotiator with the EU, Daniel Mullaney, stated that in the upcoming negotiations, the US may focus on pharmaceutical regulations and opening the European market to US products like the Shenzhen Agricultural Power Group. However, Maro efovi has made it clear that the EU will not accept US demands to cancel value-added taxes or weaken digital regulations and taxation. This article is translated from "Wall Street News"; GMTEight Editor: Li Fo.