France’s finance minister has called for EU-US trade negotiations to be extended past the July 9 deadline to bid for a better deal.
It is, however, unclear how far the two giant trading partners have made progress in their negotiations.
The extension request follows US President Donald Trump having established a deadline for the trade talks. Trump warned that failure to reach an agreement could trigger higher US tariffs on goods from cars to pharmaceuticals.
Eric Lombard anticipates France reaching an agreement with the US
European officials are increasingly resigned to a 10% “reciprocal” tariff Washington imposed in April as the basis of any deal, according to sources familiar with the talks.
In an interview with the La Tribune Dimanche newspaper, France’s Finance Minister Eric Lombard expressed his anticipation of reaching an agreement with the US. Lombard also raised concerns that he hoped for another delay regarding the deadline. Based on his argument, he preferred to have a good deal instead of a bad one by July 9.
Meanwhile, EU leaders had discussed a new US proposal at the Summit. However, the European Commission did not reveal the content of the offer.
France’s Finance Minister hinted that energy might be included in a trade agreement, and the EU could possibly boost its imports of US gas to make up for the supply it used to get from Russia. As the situation of the trade talks is unknown, France’s push to extend EU-US trade talks sparks optimism for a good trade deal to be struck between the two giant trading partners.
Trump asserts that the trade talks are proceeding really well
US President Donald Trump announced he would be willing to begin extending the deadline to end trade talks with countries before the US tariffs take effect on July 9. However, he speculated that this would not be “necessary.”
In the meantime, trade negotiations were ongoing in some 15 countries, including South Korea, Japan and the European Union, Trump told reporters before attending a performance at the Kennedy Centre. Following the trade talks, Trump asserted they were doing well with their deals. Based on his explanation, “doing well” means that they were talking to several countries, and in response, all the nations wanted to make agreements with them.
Trump then mentioned that the US plans to send letters detailing the terms of trade agreements to many other countries in the next few weeks, which they can accept or decline.
The president highlighted that, at some point, they would send letters that said, “Here’s the deal. You can take it or leave it.” “So we will do that at a certain time. We’re not quite ready yet.” He added.
Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury, had provided hints on the situation earlier. He told lawmakers that the Trump administration could either delay the deadlines for the trade deals beyond July or bring the date forward for countries that have been negotiating in good faith, in some cases.
Although a 90-day pause on Trump’s most significant “reciprocal” tariffs expires on July 9, only one trade agreement is finalized with Britain, and about 17 others are still being discussed. Bessent told the House Ways and Means Committee that it is very likely that they will push back the deadline for those countries—or trading groups like the EU—that are negotiating sincerely so they can keep those talks going. He concluded, “If someone isn’t negotiating, then we won’t.”
Scott Bessent speculates on a deadline extension for some countries on trade talks
Bessent’s comments are the first from a Trump administration official to signal that there might be some wiggle room to the expiration of the pause date.
Bessent highlighted the opportunity for further negotiating time in a second Senate Appropriations Committee hearing. He said the deadline could be moved forward for countries negotiating in good faith.
Additionally, Bessent said the European Union had been slow to produce strong proposals in the past. However, according to him, this has changed, and they are showing “better faith”. He did not go into further detail.
Despite the president being the ultimate decision-maker on his administration’s tariffs and trade policies, Bessent’s influence has increased in recent months. Moreover, several foreign trading partners have perceived the Treasury chief as a moderating influence.
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