US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick met European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič to discuss trade in the wake of Donald Trump imposing a range of tariffs. This suggests that agreement between the EU and US on trade, following the imposition of tariffs by Donald Trump, will be hard to reach. “EU standards, particularly as they relate to food health and safety, are sacrosanct. After Monday’s meeting between Mr Lutnick and Mr Šefčovič, Brussels issued a cautious assessment stressing that both sides must “bring something to the table”. But one senior source suggested the EU might be willing to make concessions on non-sensitive agriculture and food standards.
