A senior European Union official said the bloc is close to issuing its final joint statement with the United States on their framework trade agreement, although no specific date has been set for its publication.
The official told reporters on Tuesday that "the wording is almost complete, and we are now awaiting a response from our American partners to confirm some final details." He noted that work is still underway on critical issues such as rules of origin and dealing with the Chinese trade file.
Despite the progress, the official stressed that the EU does not view the agreement as a milestone to celebrate at this stage, emphasizing that the EU is seeking to include as many products as possible on the list of exemptions from US tariffs, as part of what is known as a "zero-for-zero" agreement.
Regarding tariffs, the official revealed an anomaly in the US tariffs, saying that European cheese will be subject to a 15% tariff upon entering the US market, while British cheese will be subject to a 24.9% tariff, according to Reuters.
He concluded that Brussels is pushing to include medical products on this list, or at least treat them according to the "most favored nation" principle, along with some chemicals
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