The EU's trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has met with representatives of the Trump administration in the USA during the week.
However, there is no final agreement to take a stand on - to avoid a full-blown trade war when President Donald Trump's tariff pause expires on July 9 - after this week's meetings.
On the other hand, there could be a fairly clear picture of what the Trump administration might agree to, according to Olof Gill, spokesperson for the EU Commission on trade issues.
If the member states are willing to agree to that direction, one can aim to complete an agreement next week, he says.
"Nothing is clear"
The EU Commission has a mandate to negotiate for member countries on trade issues.
On Friday afternoon, Šefčovič, back in Brussels, informed the EU governments about the results of the meetings with the USA. What was said concretely, Sweden's Minister for Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa (The Moderate Party) does not want to go into.
"Contacts are still ongoing between the Commission and the USA and nothing is clear. The EU Commission is working actively to try to reach a negotiating solution with the American administration before July 9", he writes in a comment to TT after the meeting.
"The priority is to reach a negotiating solution, at the same time as the EU prepares for countermeasures if needed if no agreement can be reached with the USA. We fully support the EU Commission in that work", he continues.
A long list of USA tariffs on the EU
On the social network X, Šefčovič wrote earlier in the day that the week in Washington DC has been productive, with meetings with the USA's Finance Minister Scott Bessent, the USA's trade representative Jamieson Greer, and the USA's Trade Minister Howard Lutnick.
"Our goal remains unchanged: a good and ambitious transatlantic trade agreement", writes Šefčovič.
The USA has, since Donald Trump took office as president, introduced a long list of new tariffs on EU countries - including general tariffs of 10 percent on all EU goods, as well as 25 percent tariffs on cars and car parts and 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Trump has threatened to raise the general tariffs if an agreement cannot be made.
The EU has so far chosen to refrain from countermeasures, but has prepared countermeasures in the form of tariffs on a long list of goods from the USA.
