The European Commission on Monday (16th) dismissed media reports that claimed "the EU is prepared to accept a uniform 10% tariff on EU goods imposed by the US," emphasizing that such statements are mere speculation and do not reflect the current trade negotiation status.

Earlier, Germany's Handelsblatt reported that in order to avoid higher tariffs imposed by the US on EU cars, pharmaceuticals, and electronics, the EU negotiators in Brussels were prepared to accept the US's proposed 10% blanket tariff. However, the European Commission quickly issued a statement refuting this, stressing that negotiations are still ongoing and no agreement has been reached yet.

The statement noted: "From the outset, the EU has opposed unreasonable and illegal US tariff measures. The suggestion that the EU would accept a 10% tariff on all exports is purely speculative and does not reflect the true status of negotiations." Later this week, European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is expected to meet with US trade representative Jamieson Greer at the G7 summit in Canada to pave the way for the next stage of negotiations.

Since the Trump administration launched a tariff offensive, EU exporters have faced multiple punitive tariffs, including as high as 50% on steel and aluminum products, 25% on cars and parts, and 10% on most other goods. If no new agreement is reached, these rates could potentially be raised again as early as July.

Trump has recently emphasized reducing the trade deficit with the EU and publicly criticized the EU's trade mechanisms as "designed to exploit the US." While the UK signed a limited bilateral agreement with the US in May, accepting a 10% export tax while also lowering tariffs on steel and automobiles, the 27 EU member states have clearly stated that such an arrangement is unacceptable.

US officials have also indicated that there will be no backing down from the 10% tariff baseline in negotiations with any trading partner, a position that has raised significant alarms within the EU internally.