EU warns tariffs will hurt everyone as trade deal with Trump still remains far off

The European Union says the US under Trump is pushing both sides toward economic disaster with his tariffs, and there’s still no deal in sight. Talks have stalled, and officials from Brussels are now publicly warning that if no agreement is reached soon, both economies are going to bleed.

The standoff comes after Trump, who is now back in the White House, first slapped a 20% duty on all EU goods, then paused it for 90 days, reducing it to 10% for that period. But the 25% tariffs on cars, steel, and aluminum are still in place and still hurting.

According to CNBC, negotiations are stuck. The EU has frozen its own planned retaliation for now, holding back a set of counter-tariffs targeting €21 billion ($24.1 billion) worth of US goods. Officials say they’re trying to give both sides “space” to talk, but the clock is ticking, and the freeze won’t last forever.

Donohoe says deal possible but time is running out

Pascal Donohoe, head of the Eurogroup and Ireland’s finance minister, said on Wednesday he still believes a deal can be made. “I do believe an agreement can be reached,” he told CNBC, “but at the same time, I do know we have lots of work that we have to do in order to get to that point.”

He spoke in Washington, on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, where most European leaders were hoping to find some middle ground with Trump’s team.

Donohoe also said with smart use of the time left, both sides might at least lay the groundwork to avoid more economic pain, adding that:

“If we use the time ahead wisely, we can at least create a framework in which we can avoid measures being taken on both sides of the Atlantic that could harm ourselves, harm Europe, and harm America.”

But progress hasn’t happened. No real compromises have been reached. And tensions got worse on Wednesday after the EU fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of euros each for breaking Europe’s digital competition laws. The timing couldn’t have been worse. The fines added fuel to an already burning pile of trade complaints and likely made the atmosphere in the negotiation rooms even colder.

Cuerpo and Heinen call for balance as trade numbers loom large

Carlos Cuerpo, Spain’s finance minister, said the situation is dangerous. Speaking to CNBC’s Carolin Roth, he warned that more than €4.5 billion ($5.1 billion) in trade between the EU and the US is flowing every single day.

“There is this specific figure, of 4.5 billion euros on a daily basis across the Atlantic in terms of trade in goods and services — that’s a treasure that we need to protect,” he said. “We need to engage in an open and frank conversation amongst the two sides of the Atlantic, because there’s a lot to lose if we do not get into a fair and balanced agreement.”

Cuerpo said the EU is entering talks with “an extended hand” and wants to sign a fair deal. But he didn’t sugarcoat the damage already being done. “Let’s not forget that under the current situation, most of the tariffs that were imposed by the US administration are already in place and affecting our companies.”

Eelco Heinen, finance minister of the Netherlands, backed that up. He called Trump’s tariffs a kind of “taxation on goods” and said they were “so bad for consumers.” He warned the damage isn’t just in the numbers—it’s about how companies react. Businesses are holding off on investment, waiting to see what happens. That pause is already slowing down economic activity on both sides.

Meanwhile, the European Commission says the idea that Europe has some unfair advantage is bullshit. While the EU had a goods trade surplus of €155.8 billion ($176.7 billion) with the US in 2023, it also had a €104 billion deficit in services. The total value of trade between both sides last year hit €1.6 trillion, showing how tightly tied these economies are.

The biggest EU exports to the US are machinery, vehicles, chemicals, manufactured goods, and pharmaceuticals. That’s exactly the stuff that will get nailed harder if more tariffs go live.

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