EU trade chief heads to Washington as bloc readies retaliation against Trump tariffs – POLITICO

BRUSSELS — The EU’s trade chief, Maroš Šefčovič, will fly to Washington D.C. Wednesday afternoon for talks with his U.S. counterparts, European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill confirmed to POLITICO. 

The last-minute decision to head to the U.S. in person comes after Šefčovič spoke to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Tuesday. He will meet Lutnick and Greer separately, Gill said.

After insisting last week that a preliminary trade deal with Washington was imminent, the EU was stunned on Saturday when President Donald Trump pulled a U-turn and threatened to impose a 30 percent tariff on EU goods should both sides fail to seal a deal by Aug. 1.