Trump’s tariffs deadline is looming for Europe. Here’s where things stand

Business
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July 4, 2025
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U.S. President Donald Trump attends a press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on June 27, 2025.

Hu Yousong | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

All eyes are on talks between the U.S. and the European Union, which have yet to strike a trade deal with just days to go before Washington’s tariffs come into full effect.

Should the trading partners fail to reach an agreement by July 9 — when a 90-day reprieve on U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs ends — EU goods imported to the U.S. could be hit by

These are the sticking points holding up a U.S.-EU trade deal

“The detailed agreement is what it says: detailed. It can run into many pages, [because] full trade agreements are thousands of pages, but what we could see is heads of terms like the one that the U.S. signed with the U.K.,” he said.

“So that’s possible, but I don’t think the actual content will be similar,” Gardner added.

Carsten Nickel, managing director at Teneo, went a step further by saying a broad agreement was the “best outcome” the EU could achieve.

The initial deal should aim to win time for further talks and include the EU’s acceptance of a 10% baseline tariff from the U.S., he told CNBC by phone, explaining that this could then allow for further conversations about items such as sectoral exemptions.

Uncertainty will nevertheless remain, even if such an arrangement is brokered, Nickel suggested.

“We’ll be in a world where, whatever agreement has been struck by then will remain the subject of intense bargaining and will remain at risk of the U.S. changing its mind, losing patience, looking in other directions and so on,” Nickel said.

He does not see the bloc imposing retaliatory measures unless Trump slaps full tariffs next week.

“And even then, I think the EU will tread carefully,” Nickel concluded.