European commissioner hopes EU and US can agree 'outline' of trade deal ahead of July 9 deadline
There may not be enough time for a 'comprehensive' trade deal between the EU and US ahead of the July 9 deadline, Ireland's European commissioner has said.
Michael McGrath has said he hopes the EU and US can at least agree an 'outline' of a trade deal ahead of the deadline.
The US administration has threatened to hit EU goods with a 50% tariff, with US president Donald Trump lashing out at the bloc.
Speaking in Brussels, Mr McGrath said experience shows that comprehensive trade deals take a long period to complete.
'It may not be possible to have the level of detail that you would normally have in a trade agreement completed by July 9, but hopefully we can have the outline of the agreement that can provide the stability we need,' Mr McGrath said.
He said the sooner an agreement could be reached between the two sides, 'the better', given that European companies are being hit with significant existing tariff levels.
However, he was cautious about a flat 10% tariff rate, alongside the 25% steel and aluminium tariffs, remaining in place in the case of agreement.
EU commissioner Michael McGrath said the sooner an agreement could be reached between the two sides, 'the better', given that European companies are being hit with significant existing tariff levels. Picture: Brian Lawless
'A continuation of the status quo is not a deal, so we need to have an agreement reached as soon as possible.'
He described the negotiations as being 'detailed, protracted, and quite challenging', but that both the EU and US were remaining at the table.
The justice commissioner also pushed back on criticism of the European Commission over its stance on Gaza, saying the European Council is responsible for setting its stance out.
He said the College of Commissioners had a 'good discussion' on a report outlining that Israel may have breached its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel association agreement in carrying out its war in Gaza.
Mr McGrath called for a full ceasefire in Gaza, alongside the return of humanitarian aid to the enclave.
'What we are witnessing transpire in Gaza is abhorrent and it is untenable.
It cannot continue and the international community has to work together to find a solution.
'It is unconscionable that we are watching on our social media feed and on television, scenes of children who are clearly malnourished and emaciated, while at the same time thousands of trucks of food and medicine are waiting at the border.
'Israel needs to allow those trucks into Gaza so that lives can be saved.'
Meanwhile, Mr McGrath said the commission would be examining the matter of dynamic pricing, saying he was 'determined' to address the matter.
Demand pricing or surge pricing is when the price change of a product or service, for example, concert tickets, is dependent on demand.
This can be used in the sake of concert tickets, but is also used by hotels and airlines to increase prices as supply drops.
'It doesn't mean it will necessarily lead to a ban, but at a minimum, more information is needed,' Mr McGrath said
'If you're joining a queue to buy concert tickets and you're doing it on the basis that prices start at €70, you should also be told that prices could be €800 by the time you get to the end of the queue.'
Read More
Powell says Fed can wait to reduce interest rates as Trump demands cuts
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
23 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Majority of company directors expect improved financial performance in second half of 2025
Despite geopolitical turmoil and mounting international trade tensions, more than half of company directors in Ireland expect an improved financial performance in the second half of 2025, a new survey shows. The survey was conducted on 322 business directors by the Institute of Directors (IoD) focusing on areas such as regulation, competitiveness, and the economic outlook. The survey found that 53% of business leaders expect improved financial performance in the second half of 2025. However, 43% feel more pessimistic about the overall prospects of the economy. In terms of risks to their business for the rest of the year, 51% cited economic and fiscal pressures, while 42% cited international trade tensions. Geopolitical risks to the supply chain were cited by 28% of people. Of the directors who believe that international trade tensions will be the greatest risk to Irish business for the remainder of the year, 54% believe that it will lead companies to reduce discretionary spending and investment while 48% said they expect consumers to delay spending decisions. In particular, when respondents were asked about the potential impact of the proposed US tariff rates on EU goods and services, 43% said they expect a negative effect on their organisation's competitiveness and business development while 32% stated it was too soon to tell. IoD Ireland CEO Caroline Spillane said there is a 'sense of cautious optimism' among company directors regarding the near-term outlook, however, there are 'significant concerns about the impact of global trade tensions and increasing regulatory pressures'. When asked what would be the main drivers for growth, 42% of directors said enhancement of products and services, while 38% said improvements to their customer or client experience and engagement, and 33% said digital transformation and innovation. Lower on the list of priorities included becoming a sustainable business, accounting for just 10% of respondents. The directors surveyed all represent a wide range of businesses as well as State or semi-State bodies, not-for-profit organisations, SMEs, and multinationals. When asked about how important AI is for future business competitiveness, 40% of respondents said that is important for improving operational efficiency, while 25% believed that it is critical for staying ahead of competitors. Read More Ireland facing sand and gravel shortage due to planning delays, industry warns
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
NATO summit commits to higher spending and mutual defence
NATO leaders have backed a big increase in defence spending and restated their commitment to defend each other from attack after a brief summit tailor-made for US President Donald Trump. In a short statement, the organisation endorsed a higher defence spending goal of 5% of GDP by 2035 - a response to a demand by Mr Trump and to Europeans' fears that Russia poses a growing threat to their security following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - that an attack on one is an attack on all," the statement said, after Mr Trump had sparked concern yesterday by saying there were "numerous definitions" of the clause. But just before the summit opened, he had said of fellow NATO members: "We're with them all the way." However, Mr Trump said that the US will make Spain pay twice as much for a trade deal after the country refused to meet the new NATO defense spending target. While NATO leaders backed a big increase in defense spending, Spain declared that it does not need to meet the goal and can meet its commitments by spending much less. Mr Trump called Spain's decision "very terrible" and vowed to force the country to make up the difference. "We're negotiating with Spain on a trade deal. We're going to make them pay twice as much," Mr Trump said. As a member of the European Union, Spain does not negotiate directly with the US on trade - the European Commission handles those talks for the entire 27-nation bloc. Mr Trump may have a hard time following through on his threat to punish Spain through a trade pact unless he gets language on the issue into a broader EU agreement. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain is always the solution and "never the problem", adding that it will defend its position with conviction. "We're talking about the fact that if we had accepted what was proposed, Spain would have had to allocate more than €300 billion between now and 2035. "Where do these resources come from? From more taxes on citizens? From cuts to the education system, healthcare, and pensions?" he said. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged that it was not easy for European countries and Canada to find the extra money, but said it was vital to do so. "There is absolute conviction with my colleagues at the table that, given this threat from the Russians, given the international security situation, there is no alternative," the former Dutch prime minister told reporters in his home city of The Hague. The new spending target - to be achieved over the next ten years - is a jump worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the current goal of 2% of GDP, although it will be measured differently. Countries would spend 3.5% of GDP on core defence - such as troops and weapons - and 1.5% on broader defence-related measures such as cyber security, protecting pipelines and adapting roads and bridges to handle heavy military vehicles. All NATO members have backed a statement enshrining the target, although Spain declared it does not need to meet the goal and can meet its commitments by spending much less. Mr Rutte disputes that but accepted a diplomatic fudge with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as part of his efforts to give Mr Trump a diplomatic victory and make the summit go smoothly. Spain said that it did not expect its stance to have any repercussions. Mr Rutte has kept the summit and its final statement short and focused on the spending pledge to try to avert any friction with Mr Trump. Mr Rutte also likened Mr Trump to a "daddy" intervening in a schoolyard brawl after the US president used profanity when describing the war between Israel and Iran. In comments to the press during the summit, Mr Trump had compared fighting between Iran and Israel to children quarrelling. "They've had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard," Mr Rutte said, adding "let them fight for about two to three minutes, then it's easy to stop them". The NATO chief added: "And then daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get (them to) stop." Following the ceasefire deal between Iran and Israel, Mr Trump said the countries had been fighting "so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing." Trump says US to hold talks with Iran after US 'victory' US President Donald Trump hailed the swift end to war between Iran and Israel and said the US would likely seek a commitment from Tehran to end its nuclear ambitions at talks with Iranian officials next week. Mr Trump said his decision to join Israel's attacks by targeting Iranian nuclear sites with huge bunker-busting bombs had ended the war, calling it "a victory for everybody". "It was very severe. It was obliteration," he said, shrugging off an initial assessment by the US Defense Intelligence Agency that Iran's path to building a nuclear weapon may have been set back only by months. He said he did not see Iran getting involved again in developing nuclear weapons. Iran has always denied decades of accusations by Western leaders that it is seeking nuclear arms. "We're going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement. I don't know. To me, I don't think it's that necessary," Mr Trump said. Meanwhile, Mr Trump indicated that he will consider providing more of the Patriot missiles that Ukraine needs to defend against mounting Russian strikes, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin "really has to end that war". His remarks came after a 50-minute meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of a NATO summit in The Hague. Both leaders described it as a positive step in a conflict that Mr Trump described as "more difficult than other wars". During a press conference in which he celebrated his own diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, Mr Trump said the Patriots were "very hard to get" but that "we are going to see if we can make some of them available". Mr Zelensky mentioned air-defence systems but it was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to more missiles or complete batteries.
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Tánaiste to add services from Israeli settlements in trade ban
The provision of services will be added to legislation banning imports from Israeli settlements if it stands up to legislative scrutiny, Simon Harris has said. The Tánaiste said he has zero policy difference with the Opposition in relation to the inclusion of services in the Israeli Settlements Prohibition of Importation of Goods Bill 2025. "But we do have a constitution. We are members of the European Union and I am not in the business of putting together legislation that would fall at the first legal hurdle," Mr Harris said. "I presume everybody here wants to pass a law that is impactful, a law that is in compliance with the laws of Ireland and that is what we are going to do." The legislation, approved by Cabinet on Tuesday, will now go before an Oireachtas committee for pre-legislative scrutiny. "If it is possible to do services and we will scrutinise this in pre-legislative scrutiny, we will add it in," Mr Harris said. The Fine Gael leader said all Government TDs will be expected to back the legislation as it is included in the programme for government and he called on those in Opposition not to engage in "lazy politicking". He said the people of Ireland are sick to the pit of their stomachs witnessing the genocide in Gaza and they want to see all politicians doing everything they can to make a difference. Mr Harris said he is absolutely open to including services and working constructively with the Opposition but said it is important to simultaneously keep the pressure on at a European level. The foreign affairs minister said he does not believe the EU has made itself compliant with the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, which clearly states that third countries must refrain from any trade or investment that helps sustain an illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. He said he would hope that every Opposition leader would be reaching out to their EU counterparts and encouraging them to follow Ireland's lead in introducing domestic legislation. "Because, so far, it is pretty lonely out here. There is not one other country in Europe that has published any legislation to ban trade," Mr Harris said. "We are the first country in the European Union to say, yes trade is the European competency, and it would be a hell of a lot better if Europe moves together and a hell of a lot more impactful but in the absence of Europe moving together, we are going to go ahead with our own domestic legislation." Read More Vat reductions for small businesses and changes to carer's allowance to form part of the budget
