Skylar Woodhouse

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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the European Union is likely to be among the last deals that the US completes, as the administration rushes to secure tariff agreements with other trading partners.

Lutnick, who has long expressed frustration with the bloc, indicated Wednesday that discussions intensified following President Donald Trump’s theat to raise levies to 50% - which he delayed until July 9 to allow more time for negotiations - but are still proceeding more slowly than others.

"I’m optimistic that we can get there with Europe. But Europe will be probably the very, very end,” Lutnick said on CNBC.

The Commerce chief said "Europe was more than thorny” before Trump issued his ultimatum, then "all of the sudden they got a little religion and made a proper offer.”

The US and EU have been grappling over trade terms before the July cutoff. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic has been in regular communication with Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer since the partners agreed to fast-track negotiations two weeks ago.  

Still, the EU believes trade negotiations with the US could blow past the deadline and officials see an agreement on the principles of a deal by that date as a best-case scenario that would allow further time to work out details, according to people familiar with the matter.

Lutnick on CNBC also said he expects to see deals with other countries to "start coming next week, and the week after and the week after.”

Trump administration officials have shown exasperation over talks with the EU, saying it is more challenging to negotiate an agreement with a group of 27-nations with differing priorities.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a May interview with Bloomberg Television said most US trading partners have been negotiating "in very good faith” but singled out the EU as an "exception.” He also accused the bloc of having a "collective action problem.”

The EU has struggled to gain more clarity on what Trump is seeking in talks. Officials have suggested the EU and US could take their tariffs down to zero on many goods, but Trump has also been criticized non-tariff measures like value-added taxes and regulators’ scrutiny of American tech companies. 

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