The EU's chief negotiator Maros Sefcovic met his American counterpart, the US trade representative Jamieson Greer, in connection with an OECD meeting in Paris on Wednesday.
I am glad that the negotiations are moving forward quickly and that the EU's negotiators show a willingness to cooperate with us to find a concrete way forward to achieve mutual trade, says Greer.
Although few believe it is likely that Brussels and Washington will reach a trade agreement in Paris, the major European stock exchanges reacted positively to the news that the negotiations are going in the right direction.
US President Donald Trump threatened at the end of May to impose 50 percent tariffs on goods from the EU from June 1, a deadline that was later extended to July 9.
This morning came the news that Trump has signed an order to double the US tariffs on steel and aluminum, from 25 to 50 percent.
