BRUSSELS — The European Commission is struggling to sell its trade deal with the U.S. as it becomes clear that many unresolved issues have been kicked down the road.
In a last-ditch attempt to fend off President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on most EU goods to 30 percent on Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck a preliminary deal with the U.S. president on Sunday that foresees a 15 percent tariff on most imports from the EU.
“I don’t know exactly what day and when the across-the-board tariff will kick in. I can’t tell you precisely now when the exemptions to the across-the-board tariff that we’re working on with our American partners will kick in,” Olof Gill, the EU executive’s trade spokesperson, told reporters at a news briefing Tuesday.
“All I can tell you is that we’ve avoided the worst case, we’ve landed on 15 percent, and we will make it work technically with the minimum of costs and the minimum damage for our exporters,” Gill added.
