Donald Trump threatened to impose 17% tariffs on food and farm produce exports from Europe during talks in Washington this week, it has emerged.
Such tariffs would hit everything from Belgian chocolate to Kerrygold butter from Ireland and olive oil from Italy, Spain and France, all big sellers in the US.
First reported in the Financial Times, sources confirmed that the EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, was given the warning on Thursday when he met the US treasure secretary, Scott Bessent, trade representative Jamieson Greer and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.
EU ambassadors were briefed on the threat on Friday.
The EU remains optimistic for a high-level political agreement, but the threat gives a flavour of the US’s continued aggressive negotiating position to extract a high price out of the EU, which Trump once described as “nastier” than China when it came to trade.
Trump has said he will write to about a dozen countries to tell them he will impose permanent tariffs of up to 70% after 9 July, his self-imposed deadline for more than 60 countries from Japan to Lesotho to reach a tariff deal.
“They’ll range in value from maybe 60% or 70% to 10% and 20% but they [the letters] are going to be starting to go out sometime tomorrow,” he told reporters at .
EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill said on Friday evening that the EU’s priority continued to “favour a negotiated solution”.
He added that “progress was made towards an agreement in principle during the latest round of negotiations which took place this week” and negotiations would continue “on substance over the weekend”.
But the EU also made clear it is prepared for a potential trade war with retaliatory tariffs on everything from Bourbon to Boeing 747s if Trump walks away before Wednesday.
On Thursday, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, confirmed that the EU was after a high level framework deal, saying it would be too difficult to get a comprehensive deal in the time available.
The EU is also seeking immediate relief from tariffs in key sectors as part of the framework including the auto industry which has to deal with a 27.5% tariff, up from 2.5% before Trump started his trade aggression.
“What we are aiming at is an agreement in principle,” she said in Denmark. “That is also what the UK did.”
The 90-day pause on Trump’s “liberation tariffs” ends on Wednesday for more than 60 countries in addition to the EU which was more recently threatened with a 50% tariff.
