“BRUSSELS -- Negotiations with the Trump administration are testing European cohesion as the bloc inches toward a potential trade deal with the U.S.
European Union officials are closing in on the outline of a deal that includes tough concessions for the EU. Agreement isn't certain.
Germany and other export-driven economies have advocated a speedy resolution to limit economic damage from U.S. tariffs.
France and several others say they, too, want a deal but have shown greater preference for pushing back against U.S. demands.
Any deal is expected to retain 10% tariffs for most European goods, people familiar with the matter said, and it is unclear what relief, if any, the EU can secure for its automotive and steel sectors, already hit by tariffs of 25% and 50% respectively.
The European Commission, the bloc's executive body, on Monday told member states that it would continue negotiating with the U.S. ahead of the previous Wednesday deadline, people briefed on the meeting said. The White House, meanwhile, said Trump was extending a pause on higher tariffs to Aug. 1.
Commission officials told members the bloc's options boil down to accepting an agreement that heavily favors the U.S. or rejecting a deal and facing more unpredictability, an EU diplomat said.
The U.S. has suggested it could exempt some sectors from its 10% across-the-board tariffs, including Europe's aircraft industry, spirits and some medical technologies, people familiar with the negotiations said.
The talks put the EU in a bind, with the effects of a deal likely to ripple through the bloc's 27 countries in different ways, testing their unity.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last week he "would prefer quick and simple to slow and complicated." The country's chemicals industry, the pharmaceutical sector, capital-goods manufacturers and carmakers were all in need of urgent relief, he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron has at times advocated European duties on the U.S. He said last week that the EU should offset any U.S. tariffs with a response that would "encourage the dismantling of all this."
The differences suggest cracks following months of EU cohesion on trade. Leaders have repeatedly emphasized -- including in meetings with Trump -- that the European Commission handles all trade policy for the entire bloc. Early fears that Trump might try to target individual members or negotiate side deals didn't materialize.
National leaders have publicly praised the commission for its regular updates on negotiations.
"The EU has been able to maintain an impressively high level of unity through all the earlier phases of the negotiations," said Andrew Small, a senior trans-Atlantic fellow with the German Marshall Fund.
"We're now into the crunch phase, where there's going to be very different impacts for different economies," he said.
Germany, Italy and Ireland are the EU's top exporters to the U.S. Germany is the EU's biggest exporter of cars and car parts to the U.S. Ireland is a major exporter of pharmaceutical and medical products. Many other countries are less dependent on the U.S. and don't have as much at stake.
"The Germans and the Italians are much more eager to get a deal done, and therefore they will be more eager to accept whatever it is," said Maria Demertzis, chief economist for Europe at the Conference Board, a think tank. "They prefer certainty to uncertainty."
France, Spain and several other European countries, by contrast, have less to lose if U.S. tariffs surge and prefer to push for a better deal, Demertzis said.” [1]
1. EU Officials' Talks with U.S. on Trade Test Bloc's Unity. Kim Mackrael; Bertrand, Benoit. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 09 July 2025: A2.
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