The US demands unbalanced trade concessions from the EU, raising concerns of potential EU retaliation

During the US-EU trade negotiations, the United States has demanded unilateral concessions from the European Union that EU officials view as unbalanced. If the terms of a potential agreement do not improve, the EU will face a difficult decision on whether to take countermeasures. According to sources familiar with the matter, the best-case scenario remains reaching an agreement in principle, allowing negotiations to continue beyond the early July deadline. Washington’s demands fall into three categories: the first involves measures related to fish export quotas, which EU officials say may not comply with WTO rules; the second concerns non-reciprocal tariff-related initiatives; and the third consists of a series of economic security requirements that EU officials describe as far-fetched. Sources indicate that even if an agreement is reached, many of Trump’s tariffs will remain in place. The EU has been seeking a mutually beneficial agreement and will assess any final outcome, deciding at that stage how much imbalance—if any—it is willing to accept. (Jin10)