The information comes from three sources, from both parties, with insight into the negotiations between the USA and the EU.
According to FT, they have been negotiating for several weeks about a framework for an agreement where the USA, as it is now, imposes a 10 percent customs duty on the majority of all imports from the EU. But it does not seem to be high enough for Trump's taste.
Furthermore, Trump has not wavered regarding the EU's urgings about the 25 percent customs duties he has introduced on car imports, the newspaper reports.
From the EU's side, the USA's tough stance has been met with pessimism. The union is described as divided about introducing countermeasures and may be forced to accept a basic rate of over 10 percent.
"We do not want a trade war, but we do not know if the USA gives us any choice", says a source to FT who is described as a high-ranking EU diplomat.
Another EU diplomat says that the mood has changed and that the union "will not accept 15 percent".
Thus, Trump's deadline, August 1, is getting closer. According to the president's threat, the USA will from then on impose 30 percent customs duties on the majority of imports from the EU.
