Customs duties: EU suggests €50 billion offer to Washington

Buy American to calm Uncle Sam's anger. On Thursday, May 1, the European Commissioner for Trade, Maros Sefcovic, announced that the European Union plans to increase its purchases of American products by 50 billion euros. This measure is being taken to resolve the " problem " of its trade relations with Washington , the European Commissioner explained in an interview with the Financial Times.

"If we consider that the deficit amounts to 50 billion euros, I think that we can really […] solve this problem very quickly through the purchase of LNG (natural gas) , or certain agricultural products like soybeans," Sefocvic said.

The EU is in the midst of negotiations with the US administration to lift tariffs imposed by Donald Trump . US tariffs of 25% on automobiles, aluminum, and steel have already come into effect, along with a 10% tariff on all other products.

Donald Trump accuses Europe of maintaining a huge trade deficit with the United States, which he estimates at several hundred billion dollars. But according to the EU, this deficit is actually limited to 50 billion euros, if services are taken into account.

Asked whether he would accept a 10% levy as a floor in trade talks, Commissioner Sefcovic said the EU considered this a "very high level," suggesting it would not be satisfied with a deal that kept tariffs at that level.

It will be "very difficult" to reach an agreement that is " clearly good and acceptable to our member states and our European Parliament , " Maros Sefcovic warns.

Trade negotiations are the responsibility of the European Commission. Once an agreement is concluded, it must still be approved by all 27 member states and ratified by the European Parliament.

For its part, China announced this Friday morning that it was evaluating a negotiation proposal from the United States regarding the customs duties applied by the two sides on their goods. Washington has imposed a 145% surcharge on many Chinese products since April. Beijing responded by imposing customs duties of 125% on goods imported from the United States.

"The United States has recently taken the initiative on numerous occasions to convey information to China […], stating that it [hopes] to discuss with China," the Ministry of Commerce announced in Beijing this morning. It added: "China is currently evaluating this." On Wednesday, Donald Trump said there is a "very good chance" that Beijing and Washington will reach an agreement.