EU Discussing Deal on Abandoning Duties on Industrial Goods With US – Commission

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - The European Union and the United States are engaged in talks on a bilateral trade agreement seeking to abolish tariffs on industrial goods, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said.

"We have important discussions on how we can facilitate trade concretely … We are also discussing if we can have a smaller trade agreement focusing on industrial goods," Malmstrom said at a conference held during her visit to Washington, D.C.

READ MORE: EU Ready to Retaliate if US Imposes Any New Tariffs on Goods — Commission

The EU trade commissioner added that the bloc was finalizing the mandate for negotiating this agreement which was set to be approved by the member states.

Malmstrom noted that Brussels had expressed its readiness to abolish tariffs on industrial goods to Washington.

In the first half of 2018, the United States and the European Union exchanged a round of import tariffs following the US decision to impose duties on metal imports from third countries. However, in July, the two sides agreed on cooperation aimed at lowering trade barriers.