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[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump on Friday (Jul 25) said there was a 50-50 chance or perhaps less that the US would reach a trade agreement with the European Union, saying Brussels wanted to “make a deal very badly”.

“We’re working very diligently with Europe, the EU,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House to head to Scotland for several days of golfing and bilateral meetings.

“I would say that we have a 50-50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50-50 chance of making a deal with the EU.”

Asked a second time about the prospects for an agreement, he said: “That’s the big one right now … I think the EU has a pretty good chance of making a deal right now.”

The European Commission on Thursday said a negotiated trade solution with the US was within reach, even as EU members voted to approve counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros (S$140 billion) of US goods in case the talks collapse.

The 27-nation bloc’s executive has repeatedly said its primary focus is on reaching a deal to avert the 30 per cent import tariffs that Trump has said the US will apply on Aug 1.

To get a deal, Trump said the EU would have to “buy down” that tariff rate, although he gave no specifics.

EU diplomats say Washington and Brussels appear to be heading towards a possible deal that would result in a broad 15 per cent tariff on EU goods imported into the US, mirroring a framework agreement Washington struck with Japan.

But the White House said discussions of a deal should be considered “speculation”. Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro told Bloomberg News the report from the EU should be taken with “a grain of salt”.

There was little information available about what the EU would offer the US to secure a deal. One EU diplomat said the bloc was not looking at a pledge of investment in the US, as Japan has agreed. REUTERS