On Monday, the European Union countries gave the final go-ahead to start trade talks with the United States after months of delay due to resistance from France.
“The Council today approved mandates for the Commission to open negotiations with the United States on two agreements: a trade agreement limited to the elimination of tariffs for industrial goods only, excluding agricultural products, [and] an agreement on conformity assessment that would have as its objective the removal of non-tariff barriers, by making it easier for companies to prove their products meet technical requirements both in the EU and the US while maintaining a high level of protection in the EU,” the council said.
A majority among the EU governments voted to support the negotiating mandates proposed by the European Commission, with France voting against and Belgium abstaining.
According to reports, the European Commission wants to start negotiations on two proposals; the first is to cut tariffs on industrial goods, the second is to make it easier for companies to show their products meet EU and US standards.
While other member states supported the mandates, France has resisted. Paris wanted to exclude agriculture from the talks and discuss climate change provisions.
Recently, Donald Trump announced that the US was introducing tariffs on $11 billion worth of EU products due to the bloc’s subsidies to Airbus.
Commenting on the announcement, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned that the US and the EU “cannot allow” a fresh conflict over European plane-maker Airbus.
In turn, the European Union has accused the US of providing Boeing with unfair support, including through tax concessions, and dealing with the issue at the WTO.