US Commerce Secretary Lutnick to meet EU trade ministers in Brussels

European Union trade ministers are joined on Monday in Brussels by their US counterparts, Secretary for Commerce Howard Lutnick and trade representative Jamieson Greer, to discuss conflictual trade relations.

On the agenda are the implementation of a tariffs deal between the US and the EU struck in July, as well as global issues such as overcapacity and protectionism.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump agreed that a base tariff of 15% would apply to most EU imports into the US.

Washington had previously threatened to impose much higher tariffs.

In return the EU made several concessions including the promise to purchase $750 billion worth of US energy by the end of Trump's term and other major investments.

Some details of the agreement and their implementation are however still unclear.

The EU has also been worried by the consequences of Washington's restrictive trade policies under Trump.

There are concerns that US tariffs on goods from other regions could lead to global overcapacity being sold to the EU at dumping prices instead of to the US, leading to additional strain on European economies.