EU Approves Negotiating Mandate for US Talks; Says No Deal Will Be Concluded While Section 232 Tariffs in Place

The European Council approved a negotiating mandate for trade talks with the U.S., but says it will not finish a free-trade agreement until the steel and aluminum tariffs on its member countries are lifted. The mandate, which was approved April 15, excludes agricultural trade from the talks.

Ștefan-Radu Oprea, council president and trade minister for Romania, said, "Today's adoption of the EU negotiating directives gives a clear signal of the EU's commitment to a positive trade agenda with the US and the implementation of the strictly defined work programme agreed by Presidents [Donald] Trump and [Jean-Claude] Juncker on 25 July 2018. But let me be clear: we will not speak about agriculture or public procurement. Another important element is that the environmental and social impact of the agreement will be fully taken into account during the negotiations." The Council said that the environmental impact of the difference between EU and U.S. regulations will matter.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, reacted to the news with a statement that said, "Elimination of industrial tariffs and non-tariff barriers only get us part of the way there, especially when we face major barriers to agricultural trade in the E.U. Agriculture is a significant piece of the global economy and it simply doesn’t make sense to leave it out.

"Any deal that eliminates tariffs will need to get congressional approval. Bipartisan members of the Senate and the House of Representatives have voiced their objections to a deal without agriculture, making it unlikely that any such deal would pass Congress," he said.

Juncker, the European Commission president, said the EU is following through on the meeting he and Trump had. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, who will lead the talks for Europe, said: "This is a welcome decision that will help ease trade tensions. We are now ready to start formal talks for these two targeted agreements that will bring tangible benefits for people and economies on both sides of the Atlantic."

The mandate said agriculture was excluded because "past efforts with the United States have demonstrated difficulties in negotiating mutually acceptable commitments in areas identified as priorities by the [European] Union."