The EU Commission president Jean Claude Junker and trade commissioner Cecelia Malmstrom today announced that formal negotiations would begin with the US on two agreements, one on conformity assessment and the other on eliminating tariffs on industrial products.

This is an outworking of the meeting between president Junker and US President Trump last July, which successfully averted a trade spat between the US and EU.

There had been recent reports that President Trump was considering the implementation of tariffs on EU cars and car parts for which there would have been retaliatory tariffs.

The formal signing off of these negotiations are expected to ease this tension.

Agriculture excluded

Any trade negotiation with the UK immediately creates fears among farmers on the possibility of the EU market being opened further to US beef imports.

There is already agreement for 35,000t of hormone-free US beef and farmers are anxious that this isn’t increased.

However, the negotiation is defined to industrial goods with agriculture specifically excluded.

Since the July meeting between the US and EU Commission presidents and the agreement not to introduce any new tariffs, the US has had a big win with soya exports to the EU.

China had been previously the main export market for US soya, but the China-US trade spat meant tariffs on US soya and Brazil had a clear run at that market, displacing the US.

Brazil had been previously a major exporter to the EU, so the US essentially stepped into Brazil's place and has since been the EU’s main source of imported soya.