American president Joe Biden will discuss the war between Israel and Hamas and emphasize unity on support for Ukraine when he receives European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen on Friday, amid of dwindling hopes for resolving long-standing trade disputes.
Trade negotiators on Thursday tried to prevent the US from resuming tariffs on EU steel and aluminum that then-President Donald Trump imposed before November in 2018.
The war between Israel and Hamas and a looming Israeli ground offensive in Gaza were likely to dominate discussions, von der Leyen said in Washington, warning of the risk of a “regional spillover” of the conflict.
The Biden administration has suspended tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU, provided the two sides agree by the end of this month on measures to tackle overcapacity in non-market economies such as China and promote greener steel.
A deal seems far off with Washington eager for the EU to apply metal tariffs on imports from China and Brussels refusing to do so before a year-long investigation into compliance with World Trade Organization rules has begun.
Also appearing elusive was a deal to soften the impact of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which offers consumers tax breaks when buying electric vehicles (EVs) assembled in North America.
One of the sources said the two sides had made some progress on an agreement that would allow electric cars using critical materials from the EU – cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese and nickel – to qualify for partial tax breaks , but that an agreement was unlikely to be finalized. before Friday’s summit.
Trade negotiators on Thursday tried to prevent the US from resuming tariffs on EU steel and aluminum that then-President Donald Trump imposed before November in 2018.
The war between Israel and Hamas and a looming Israeli ground offensive in Gaza were likely to dominate discussions, von der Leyen said in Washington, warning of the risk of a “regional spillover” of the conflict.
The Biden administration has suspended tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU, provided the two sides agree by the end of this month on measures to tackle overcapacity in non-market economies such as China and promote greener steel.
A deal seems far off with Washington eager for the EU to apply metal tariffs on imports from China and Brussels refusing to do so before a year-long investigation into compliance with World Trade Organization rules has begun.
Also appearing elusive was a deal to soften the impact of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which offers consumers tax breaks when buying electric vehicles (EVs) assembled in North America.
One of the sources said the two sides had made some progress on an agreement that would allow electric cars using critical materials from the EU – cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese and nickel – to qualify for partial tax breaks , but that an agreement was unlikely to be finalized. before Friday’s summit.
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