US and Europe trade negotiators discuss tariffs in Paris

by CATHERINE GASCHKA SAM McNEIL and PAUL WISEMAN Associated Press PARIS AP Europe and the United States are meeting in Paris to negotiate a settlement of a tense tariff spat with global economic ramifications between two global economic powerhouses The European Union s top arrangement negotiator Maro ef ovi met Wednesday with his American counterpart U S Transaction Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Maturation We re advancing in the right direction at pace ef ovi noted at a news conference He noted ongoing technical meetings between EU and U S negotiators in Washington would be soon followed by a video conference between himself and Greer to then assess the progress and charter the way forward European Commissioner for Commerce and Economic Precaution Maros Sefcovic arrives for a meeting of EU bargain ministers at the European Council building in Brussels Thursday May AP Photo Omar Havana Brussels and Washington are unlikely to reach a substantive commerce agreement in Paris The issues dividing them are too formidable to resolve briskly President Donald Trump regularly fumes about America s persistent commerce deficit with the European Union which was a record billion last year according to the U S Commerce Department Trump blames the gap between what the U S sells and what it buys from Europe on unfair exchange practices and often singles out for criticism the EU s tax on imported cars America s was until Trump raised it to in April The EU has argued its purchases of U S services especially in the system sector all but overcome the deficit After the Trump administration s surprise tariffs last week on steel rattled global markets and complicated the ongoing wider tariff negotiations between Brussels and Washington the EU on Monday disclosed it is preparing countermeasures against the U S The EU has offered the U S a zero for zero deal in which both sides end tariffs on industrial goods including autos Trump has rejected that idea but EU executives say it s still on the table The EU could buy more liquefied natural gas and defense items from the U S and lower duties on cars but it isn t likely to budge on calls to scrap the value added tax which is akin to a sales tax or open up the EU to American beef We still have a sparse weeks to have this discussion and negotiation French Pact Minister Laurent Saint-Martin explained in Paris on Wednesday ahead of the OECD meeting If the discussion and negotiation do not succeed Europe is capable of having countermeasures on American products and services as well Related Articles Howie Carr ICE doing the job Democrats failed to do Mexican girl is granted humanitarian parole to continue receiving lifesaving care in US lawyers say Somerville and Chelsea take Trump to court over sanctuary city funding threats Federal lawsuit accusing Peter Navarro of using unofficial email account dropped Trump asks Congress to claw back billions in approved spending targeted by DOGE Greta Peisch who was general counsel for the U S exchange representative in the Biden administration commented the zero-for-zero proposal could provide a way to make progress if the Trump administration is looking for a reason not to impose tariffs on the EU But Peisch now a partner at the Wiley Rein law firm wondered How motivated is the U S to come to a deal with the EU Trump after all has longstanding grievances and complaints about EU business practices One target of his ire is the value-added tax similar to U S state sales taxes Trump and his advisers consider VATs unfair protectionism because they are levied on U S products But VATs are set at a national level not by the EU and apply to domestic and imported products alike so they have not traditionally been considered a commerce barrier There is little chance governments will overhaul their tax systems to appease Trump Likewise the Europeans are likely to balk at U S demands to scrap food and safety regulations that Washington views as exchange obstructions These include bans on hormone-raised beef chlorinated chicken and genetically modified foods When you start talking about chickens or GMOs or automobile safety standards you re talking about the methods countries choose to regulate their economies Peisch mentioned We think that s protectionist They think it s keeping their citizens healthy It s been a sore point for years McNeil announced from Barcelona and Wiseman shared from Washington D C