Why Europe and the US are still haggling on trade

The visit is an opportunity for a back and forth between two of the world’s most active trading partners at a moment when their trade relationship remains somewhat in flux. Both sides have signed onto a trade agreement in principle — one that has left the 27-nation bloc facing 15% tariffs across the board, with various exceptions. But key parts of the deal have not been completed and carried out.

Europe is hoping for a better deal on a list of items, including wine and spirits, steel, aluminum, medical devices and pasta. The United States has implied that the Europeans must do more to meet their commitments, including making promised investments. US officials also continue to push for changes, such as Europe rolling back key technology regulations.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Greer said that the Europeans had started a legal process to meet their trade commitments and that it was well underway. “We’re here to just take stock of that progress,” said Greer, who was speaking from outside of the European Union buildings in Brussels.

“We’re happy to talk to them about, you know, alternatives in the future and next steps,” he added. “But I want to make sure that the current deal is fully implemented.”

“There is a risk that Europe does not understand that everything with this administration is a constant negotiation,” said Jörn Fleck, senior director with the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council, a research institute. He said the deal von der Leyen and Trump struck several months ago at his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, was temporary.

“Europe should take that quite literally,” he said. “Because this administration will.”

A senior Trump administration official said the United States would seek to conclude a binding, written agreement with the EU. The official added that the Americans aimed to address issues that hadn’t been fully resolved, including challenges related to digital services taxes, discrimination against US companies and pharmaceutical pricing.

While the Americans have been pushing Europe to pare back its digital regulations for months, the Europeans have resisted on key points, especially regarding their policing of speech on large social media platforms. Europe says the issue is a matter of sovereignty.

The U.S. official also said European requests for further tariff reductions were “out of sync” with the progress of the talks, suggesting that a framework the parties agreed to in July would need to go into effect before the United States reduces its tariffs.

But that could take time. The European Union has put forward legislation that would cut tariffs on U.S. industrial goods and some agricultural exports as part of its side of the trade deal.

That legislation still needs the approval of the European Parliament, where some lawmakers worry that the United States is not holding up its end of the bargain.

European officials remain concerned about U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs and have said that they believe the 15% cap should extend beyond products listed in the deal, such as cars and wood. For now, Europe still faces a 50% duty on steel and aluminum, and on many products that contain those metals.

Bernd Lange, the German social democrat who chairs the European Parliament’s trade committee, has pointed out that the list of products using steel and aluminum and covered by a 50% tariff has expanded since the deal was struck.

“Only if the US reduces this 50% back to 15% will I allow the reduction, a zero percent tariff on steel and steel products in Europe,” he said last month.

The European Commission has also suggested that it wants to see the lower rate apply more broadly.

“The single, all-inclusive 15% cap on tariffs for EU exports to the U.S. agreed in the deal should be applicable also to aluminum derivatives,” Sefcovic, the trade commissioner, said in a speech last week.

The United States and Europe also are trying to find a way to secure their supply chains at a moment when China has been flexing its power over rare earth minerals and other critical raw materials, restricting exports.

Both the European Union and the United States are concerned about overcapacity in China that prompts companies to dump cheap products, potentially putting European and American manufacturers out of business.

In the United States, Trump’s tariffs and trade deals face uncertainty from a legal challenge at the Supreme Court. The court is expected to deliver a ruling within weeks or months that would uphold the tariffs that Trump has imposed, or order him to remove them.

If the court rules against Trump, his administration may be left scrambling to use other legal authorities to impose tariffs, and to persuade trading partners to uphold their deals.

Even so, for industries in Europe, a finalized deal between the two nations — preferably with the carve-outs that the EU is planning to present to the United States this week — is the priority.

“We are hoping that we will be on that list, and, more importantly, we are hoping that the list will be received favorably,” said Pauline Bastidon, director for trade and economic affairs at Spirits Europe, an alcohol industry group.

But she noted that it was not clear how welcome such suggestions would be. “I believe there is one man who decides,” she said, referring to Trump.