\u201cThe Commission has so far \u2014 fortunately \u2014 pushed back against the most immediate German instincts,\u201d Kleimann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, the Commission now appears to be willing to accept an agreement \u2014 with a landing zone involving sectoral carve-outs from a 10 percent U.S. baseline tariff \u2014 that would \u2026\u00a0 erode fundamental principles of the rules-based trading system and undermine EU strategic autonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Symmetry in asymmetry<\/p>\n
At the other end of the spectrum are Paris and Madrid, which want to resist the U.S. president\u2019s roughhouse negotiating tactics, according to two EU diplomats who were granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door trade talks.<\/p>\n
At last week\u2019s summit, French President Emmanuel Macron \u2014 who has been pushing for weeks for Trump to remove all tariffs \u2014 initially argued against rushing to accept an \u201casymmetrical\u201d agreement just to meet Trump\u2019s deadline. At the end of the meeting, however, he indicated he might be willing to accept a 10 percent tariff under certain conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be best to have the lowest tariff possible, zero percent is the best. But if it\u2019s 10 percent, it\u2019ll be 10 percent,\u201d he said. \u201cIf the American choice falls on 10 percent, there will be a compensation on goods sold by the United States. The levy will result in the same levy on U.S. goods.\u201d<\/p>\n