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European Union ministers will urge senior U.S. trade officials to implement more elements of the July EU–U.S. trade deal on Monday, including cutting tariffs on EU steel and lifting duties on goods such as wine and spirits.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are in Brussels for their first meetings with EU trade ministers since taking office.
The officials will join the ministers for a 90-minute working lunch focused on key transatlantic trade issues, including Chinese export restrictions on rare earths and semiconductors.
Under the end-July agreement, the United States set 15% tariffs on most EU goods, while the European Union committed to removing many of its duties on U.S. imports.
That process may not be completed until March or April, pending approval from the European Parliament and EU governments, a delay that EU diplomats say has frustrated Washington.
While Brussels insists implementation is on track, the bloc is also pressing the U.S. to advance on agreed areas, particularly steel and aluminium.
The United States currently applies a 50% tariff on the metals, and since mid-August has extended the duty to the metal content of 407 derivative products, including motorcycles and refrigerators. More items could be added next month.
EU diplomats warn that these actions, along with the prospect of new U.S. tariffs on trucks, critical minerals, planes and wind turbines, risk undermining the July deal.
“We’re at a delicate moment,” one diplomat said.
“The U.S. is looking for reasons to criticise the EU as we are trying to get them to work on steel and other unresolved matters.”
Brussels also wants a wider range of its products returned to low pre-Trump tariff levels, including wine, spirits, olives and pasta.
The bloc says it is ready to discuss broader regulatory cooperation in areas such as automotive standards, EU purchases of U.S. energy, and joint efforts on economic security in response to Chinese export controls.
Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, has said that Ukraine has not provided Moscow with a list of thousands of children it alleges were taken illegally to Russia, despite the issue being discussed during talks in Istanbul.
Iranian authorities have seized a foreign tanker carrying more than 6 million litres of smuggled fuel in the Sea of Oman, detaining all 18 crew members on board.
An explosive device found in a vehicle linked to one of the alleged attackers in Bondi shooting has been secured and removed according to Police. The incident left 12 people dead.
The latest round of clashes between Thailand and Cambodia has left 15 Thai soldiers dead and 270 others injured, Thailand’s Ministry of Defence spokesman Surasant Kongsiri said at a press conference on Saturday.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has offered condolences to President Donald Trump following an ISIS attack near the ancient city of Palmyra that killed two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter, Syrian and U.S. officials said Sunday.
Iran has rolled out changes to how fuel is priced at the pump. The move is aimed at managing demand without triggering public anger.
U.S. stock markets closed lower at the end of the week, as investors continued to rotate out of technology shares, putting pressure on major indices.
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.50% to 3.75% following its two-day policy meeting, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday, 10 December.
China has carried out a major test of a new “super wireless” rail convoy, a technology that could reshape the future of heavy-haul transport.
Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O) has launched a $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O). The escalation follows a high-stakes battle that had appeared to end last week when Netflix secured a $72 billion deal for the studio giant’s assets.
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