Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire urged that “each side, the Europeans and the Americans, must find something in these discussions”, and, “any trade deal must be based on reciprocity”. He also emphasized that agriculture must be excluded from the trade negotiations. To him, Europe could not ease its food safety and environmental norms. Also, he seems to prefer more focus in the negotiation and said “we don’t want to enter into a negotiation a wide-ranging deal.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas welcomed the results even though “this is not yet the result we are aiming for”. He acknowledged that “it has made a positive result in the whole discussion…on free trade or protectionism more likely than before.” Economy Minister Peter Altmaier also expressed his optimism that ” we can get a good result in the coming weeks and months.”
Department for International Trade said in statement that “we welcome the agreement by the U.S. and the EU to work together to reduce barriers to trade and to further increase trade and investment.” And, “we look forward to progress towards the removal of steel and aluminum tariffs and de-escalation of the tit-for-tat action that could harm businesses and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.”
