French minister calls for extension of EU-US trade talks
PARIS: France's finance minister has called for extending EU-US trade talks beyond the July 9 deadline in order to secure a better agreement.
US President Donald Trump has set the deadline for the trade talks, warning that failure to reach agreement could trigger higher US tariffs on goods from cars to pharmaceuticals.
Progress in the negotiations between the huge trading partners remains unclear. European officials are increasingly resigned to a 10 percent 'reciprocal' tariff imposed by Washington in April being the baseline in any deal, sources familiar with the talks have told Reuters.
'I think that we are going to strike a deal with the Americans,' French Finance Minister Eric Lombard told newspaper La Tribune Dimanche in an interview published on Sunday.
'Regarding the deadline, my wish is for another postponement. I would rather have a good deal than a bad deal on July 9,' he said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this month that deadlines on some countries negotiating in good faith could be extended.
French President Emmanuel Macron said following an EU summit on Thursday that France wants a quick and pragmatic trade deal with the United States but would not accept unbalanced terms.
EU leaders discussed a new US proposal at the summit but the European Commission did not reveal the content of the offer.
Lombard said that energy could form part of a trade deal, with the EU potentially increasing its imports of US gas to replace flows from Russia.
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