EU’s newly appointed trade commissioner Phil Hogan is keen to reset trade negotiations between the Union and the US at his first meeting with the US trade team in January 2020. Hogan commented in a recent interview with the Irish Times, “I will be seeking a reset of the EU/US trade relationship on issues like tariffs on steel and aluminium and the threat of US tariffs in response to a digital tax in Europe.”

In 2018, the US government had announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe, and added tariffs on another $7.5 billion worth of imports from the region. The US has also threatened to impose tariffs on French imports over the issue of digital services tax.

Hogan is set to meet with his US counterpart in Washington sometime in mid-January to set the ball rolling once again on discussions of key irritants that have caused strain in the trade relations between the two regions. While both sides are keen to remove all import duties imposed on each other’s goods, they are unable to move past the issue of farm products purchases by the EU.

In addition, if the US goes ahead with its threat to impose more tariffs on French imports, it could raise tensions and make the matter harder to resolve.