EU Proposes Removal Of Tariffs On US Industrial Goods To Accelerate Lower Duties On Car Exports

The European Commission on Thursday proposed the removal of tariffs on U.S. industrial goods imported into Europe in a bid to accelerate the reduction of duties on cars exported from the EU to the United States.

According to a statement posted by the Commission, the EU proposal also includes preferential treatment to some agricultural and seafood products, as well as extending the duty-free policy for lobsters from the U.S.

This comes after the U.S. and EU announced tariff details for automobiles and pharmaceuticals last week, following a trade deal hashed out in July, which brings the two closer to a formal agreement. The announcement included plans to reduce tariffs on auto imports from the EU to the United States, but this hinged on the elimination of duties on U.S. industrial goods.

With the EU holding its end of the bargain, it paves the way for the Trump administration to bring down tariffs on cars and auto parts imported from Europe to 15% from 27.5%. The European Commission said it expects the U.S. to reduce auto tariffs to 15% with effect from August 1.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities edged up in Thursday’s morning session. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.04%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.3%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ territory.

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