U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce this week whether he is delaying a decision about slapping tariffs on cars and auto parts imported from the European Union, likely for another six months, EU officials said.
"We have a solid indication from the administration that there will not be tariffs on us this week," one EU official said on Monday, cited Reuters.
The Trump administration has a Thursday deadline to decide whether to impose threatened "Section 232" national security tariffs of as much as 25 percent on imported vehicles and parts under a Cold War-era trade law.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose agency is overseeing an investigation into the effect of auto imports on U.S. national security, said on November 3 the United States may not need such tariffs after holding "good conversations" with automakers in the European Union, Japan and South Korea.
Trump last May delayed a decision on the tariffs by six months, and another delay would cause automakers across the globe to breathe a sigh of relief.
EU officials said while a further six-month delay was likely, Trump's actions were unpredictable and he would likely keep the threat of car tariffs hanging over them as the United States and European Union pursue trade negotiations in the coming year.
"We believe that nothing will happen for now, but the threat of tariffs will be left there as leverage," Reuters cited a European diplomat.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and EU Trade Commission Cecilia Malmstrom have spoken more often in recent weeks, and the tone had become more "positive," the diplomat added.
Uncertainty surrounding Trump's final determination
Citing an unnamed person familiar with the decision, Politico reported on Monday that Trump is expected to announce another six-month delay of tariffs on EU autos, which would avoid a new bruising dispute with one of the United States' biggest trading partners.
But the person also cautioned that there is always uncertainty surrounding Trump's final determination when it comes to trade and tariffs.
The New York Times also reported on Monday that Trump is widely expected this week to delay the auto tariffs for several months, "because there is little appetite in the administration to move ahead with them now," citing people familiar with the deliberations, Lighthizer told reporters in September that he did not expect Trump to impose tariffs on imported Japanese autos and auto parts after the two countries reached a deal on digital trade and tariff reduction for agricultural and industrial products.
(With input from Reuters and Xinhua)