US, EU to reach beef trade deal - report
Updated : 12:27
US President Donald Trump will formally announce a deal to open up the European Union to more beef exports on Friday, Bloomberg reported citing unnamed sources.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and the European ambassador to the US will sign an agreement to raise the amount of American beef that can be sold in the EU market, the report stated.
The deal comes after the bloc carved out quotas from other nations earlier this year.
American farmers will be entitled to almost 80% of the annual EU quota on hormone-free beef over seven years, with an initial allocation of around 40%, European officials told reporters in June.
The US and EU are still working on a limited trade agreement that would cut industrial tariffs but have reached an impasse regarding agriculture and whether to include it in negotiations.
The news could exert additional pressure on the euro/dollar exchange rate that is already reflecting the market’s “wait and watch” mode ahead of the key US employment data.