WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will formally announce an agreement to open up European markets to more U.S. beef exports, a person familiar with the deal told Reuters.
EU sources and diplomats in June said a deal had been reached to allow the United States a guaranteed share of a 45,000 tonne European Union quota for hormone-free beef.
Trump is scheduled to make an announcement at the White House at 1:45 p.m. (1745 GMT), according to a notice from the White House.
The president’s daily schedule, issued late on Thursday night, gave no other details and representatives for the White House did not respond to a request for comment.
U.S. and European officials have sought to lay the groundwork for talks on a trade agreement but earlier faced an impasse over agriculture. European officials last month said trade talks had produced mixed results.
An agreement on beef could however, ease tensions between the two sides, which are each other’s largest trading partners.
The deal would not change the overall import volume and would also still need to be approved by the European parliament.
The Trump administration has been pursuing a host of new trade deals with Europe, China and others as part of the Republican president’s “America First” agenda as he seeks a second term in office, but difficulties in securing final pacts have roiled global markets.
European stock on Friday were battered by Trump’s latest salvo in his ongoing trade dispute with China after the U.S. president vowed to impose further tariffs on Chinese imports.
Lingering issues also remain in other areas of U.S.-EU trade, including import duties on industrial goods that Europe wants removed, as well as the threat of tariffs on European cars imported to the United States.
