EU Looks For ‘Crystal Ball’ To Predict Trump's Intentions As It Awaits Tariff Letter From White House

The European Union is awaiting clarity on the approach that President Donald Trump wants to take with respect to tariffs.

According to a Reuters report, the EU is bracing for a tariff letter from the White House on Friday, in a week that has seen under 30 such notices being sent out to close allies and trade partners alike.

“We would need a crystal ball to detect what the U.S. intentions are,” an EU diplomat said, according to the report.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities fell in Friday’s pre-market trading session after President Trump hit neighbor Canada with 35% tariffs, starting August 1.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down 0.51%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 0.45%. Stocktwits data shows retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF has been in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past week.

According to the report, a deal between the U.S. and the EU could be close, but it’s not clear if it would result in a tariff letter from President Trump or a trade deal.

Earlier this week, President Trump said in a cabinet meeting that either a tariff letter or a deal with the EU would be coming in two days. However, there’s no new word on the matter yet.

Meanwhile, the EU is pushing for a “stand-still” clause on tariffs with the U.S. until a trade deal with the  Trump administration is reached.

German lawmaker Bernd Lange stated that the EU is attempting to persuade the U.S. to refrain from imposing new tariff measures while an agreement is being negotiated.

“I see that there might be a corridor for some understanding in the tariff situation on steel, on cars and of course, also regarding some possible exceptions from the baseline tariffs,” Lange said.

The EU is currently facing 50% tariffs on steel, 25% on cars, and 10% on other goods, as the economic bloc tries to hash out a trade deal with the U.S. prior to August 1.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Also See: Nvidia's Market Cap Is Now Higher Than GDP Of 189 Countries, But Goldman Sees More Upside Despite Rally Past $4 Trillion