Trump and EU's von der Leyen agree to meet, says European Commission
(VOVWORLD) - US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed on Saturday during a short exchange on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral to meet at a later stage, von der Leyen's spokesperson said.
 US President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2020. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo) |
"In their brief exchange, President von der Leyen and President Trump agreed to meet," Paula Pinho said in a post on X. No further details were immediately available.
The US imposed 25% tariffs on EU cars, steel and aluminium in March and 20% tariffs on other EU goods in April. It then halved the 20% rate until July 8, setting a 90-day window for talks to reach a more comprehensive tariff deal.
In response, the 27-nation EU suspended its own plans to impose retaliatory tariffs on some US goods and proposed zero duties for all industrial goods on both sides.
On Friday, EU Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the zero-tariff offer had met with only moderate US interest, and that the US and the EU still needed a lot of work to reach a deal that would avert the imposition of tariffs from both sides.