(Reuters) -European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said that Brussels wants to increase purchases of goods from the United States by 50 billion euros ($ 56.46 billion) to tackle a “problem” in the trade relationship, adding the block makes “certain progress” to a deal, the financial times reported on Thursday.
In an interview with the newspaper, Sefcovic suggested that the Washington block would not accept that 10% rates on its goods would be a fair resolution for commercial interviews.
In March, the US imposed 25% rates on EU cars, steel and aluminum and 20% rates for other EU goods in April. Subsequently, the rate of 20% to 8 July stopped, which set up a 90 -day window for conversations to reach a more extensive tariff agreement.
In response, the 27-countries EU has suspended its own plans to impose retaliation rates on some US goods and to present zero tasks for all industrial goods to both parties.
“If what we consider as a problem in the shortage is 50 billion euros, I believe we can really do that … solving this problem very quickly via LNG purchases, through some agricultural products such as soybeans or other areas,” Sefcovic said according to the FT report.
Sefcovic, however, warned that it would be “very difficult” to reach a deal that was “clearly good and acceptable for our Member States and our European Parliament”.
The European Commission is negotiating trade measures on behalf of the EU Member States.
EU was also willing to work with the US to tackle the impact of China's export thrust as a sweetener for a trade agreement, the trading leader added.
($ 1 = 0.8857 euros)
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru, adaptation by Deepa Babington)
