French PM says EU-US trade deal an act of ‘submission’ and a dark day for Europe

July 28, 2025 4:03 PM

French PM says EU-US trade deal an act of ‘submission’ and a dark day for Europe

France called a framework trade deal between the United States and European Union a "dark day" for Europe, saying the bloc had caved in to U.S. President Donald Trump with an unbalanced deal that slaps a headline 15% tariff on EU goods while sparing U.S. imports from any immediate European retaliation. The criticism from Prime Minister Francois Bayrou followed months of French calls for EU negotiators to take a tougher stance against Trump by threatening reciprocal measures — a position that ...

EU leaders meet to decide on whether to back quick US trade deal or seek better terms

June 26, 2025 2:49 PM

EU leaders meet to decide on whether to back quick US trade deal or seek better terms

European Union leaders are to tell the European Commission on Thursday whether they want to reach a quick trade agreement with the United States on terms that favour Washington or keep fighting for a better deal. A quick deal seems to be the preferred option for most, officials and diplomats said, as the EU can then seek to address the unfavourable bias with some rebalancing measures of its own. "I support the Commission, I support the President of the European Commission in her endeavours to ...