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The EU’s proposal outlines mutual investment and procurement plans in artificial intelligence, digital connectivity, and other sectors.
The European Union is trying to settle the tit-for-tat tariff war between it and the US. It shared a trade proposal with Washington earlier this week that outlined mutual investment and procurement plans in artificial intelligence, digital connectivity, and other sectors, anonymous sources told Bloomberg.
The paper also suggests slowly removing tariffs on both sides for certain agricultural and industrial goods, and working together to tackle overcapacity issues in supply chains for semiconductors, as well as steel, pharmaceuticals, and automotive products. It takes into account US priorities, such as workers’ rights, environmental standards, and economic security.
The sources said that the EU would like to strike a mutually beneficial deal with the US, but officials are unsure that US President Trump has the same goals. According to Bloomberg, officials have been emphasising to their American counterparts that the two economies are deeply intertwined, and that reaching a deal should be a shared priority
Formal negotiations have not begun as the European Commission would likely need a mandate from the member states to do so, the sources said. However, by submitting the paper, the EU is signalling its readiness to engage. At the same time, the EU is preparing retaliatory measures in case a satisfactory deal cannot be reached. The sources said discussions around the proposal are ongoing, and the two nations will meet in early June.
Trump has been threatening the EU with tariffs even before his second inauguration, taking issue with its trade surplus in cars, agriculture, oil, and gas, but the battle properly kicked off in March this year.
During the ongoing negotiation period, Trump has confirmed that he would reinstate reciprocal tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, and threatened additional tariffs on sectors such as film industry. Several EU member states have urged the Commission to retaliate should these come to fruition.
On May 8, the EU proposed a list of €95 billion worth of US products that could face tariffs if talks fail. This list includes cars, aircraft, electrical equipment, alcohol, fish, chemicals, and other key exports. Washington has struck deals with both the UK and China this month, suggesting that Trump is open to compromise, but, according to Bloomberg, the EU has no intention of accepting terms similar to those offered to other countries.
The Trump administration has submitted a paper to the EU’s executive arm as part of ongoing negotiations, Bloomberg says. However, an EU official dismissed it as a “wishlist” of unrealistic demands, criticising it for targeting non-negotiable areas such as the bloc’s digital regulations.
Trump has previously criticised the EU for its regulatory stance against Apple, Google, Meta, and other US tech firms. At the World Economic Forum in January, he said, “they’re American companies, and they shouldn’t be doing that,” and that “it’s a form of taxation,” while Vice President JD Vance disparaged Europe’s use of “excessive regulation” at the Paris AI Summit in February.
Fiona Jackson is a news writer who started her journalism career at SWNS press agency, later working at MailOnline, an advertising agency, and TechnologyAdvice. Her work spans human interest and consumer tech reporting, appearing in prominent media outlets such as TechHQ, The Independent, Daily Mail, and The Sun.
