Council Of EU May Endorse Mandate For Trade Talks With US In Coming Weeks - Commissioner

The negotiating directives for EU trade talks with the United States on removing tariff and non-tariff barriers in trade of industrial goods may be adopted by the Council of the European Union in the coming weeks, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom said on Friday

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2019) The negotiating directives for EU trade talks with the United States on removing tariff and non-tariff barriers in trade of industrial goods may be adopted by the Council of the European Union in the coming weeks, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom said on Friday.

"Yes," Malmstrom told reporters upon her arrival at the informal meeting of EU trade ministers in Bucharest, asked whether the directives in question could be adopted in a matter of weeks rather than months.

Back in January, the European Commission presented its draft negotiating mandates for future talks with Washington, which now must be approved by the European Parliament and the council.

According to Malmstrom, the parliament is expected to vote on the issue in early March.

The negotiating directives are part of the implementation of the July 25 statement of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and US President Donald Trump.

The two agreed to work toward "zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods." The sides also agreed to increase trade in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical products and soybeans.

Prior to striking the deal, the United States and European Union were locked in what appeared to be an escalating trade war after Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the European Union, Canada and Mexico in June. The European Union retaliated by levying its own tariffs on over $3.2 billion worth of the US imports, saying that the US tariffs targeted over $7.4 billion worth of the EU exports. Both sides also threatened to impose reciprocal tariffs on automobiles, agricultural and high-tech goods.

Most recently on Wednesday, Trump reiterated that the United States would impose major tariffs on auto imports from the European Union if the two sides failed to reach an agreement.