BRUSSELS, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The European Commission, which last week received a text from the U.S. administration with suggestions about finalising a joint statement on trade and tariffs, has sent back the draft to the US, a European Commission spokesman said during a daily press conference on Tuesday.
"I can confirm that we have sent back the draft joint statement to the US," the spokesman said, adding that political level contact between European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and U.S. Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer is ongoing. "The work continues".
The EU and the United States struck a framework trade deal in late July but only the baseline tariff of 15% has so far been implemented. The EU is still waiting for the White House to issue executive orders to cover carve-outs, such as on the automotive industry.
Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, writing by GV De Clercq, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout
Source: Reuters