Trump pushes for up to 20% minimum tariffs on European Union: FT-OxBig News Network

U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding a minimum of 15%-20% tariffs on imports from the European Union, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing sources.

According to three people briefed on trade talks between the U.S. and the bloc, Trump has escalated his demands following weeks of negotiations over a possible framework deal, the paper said.

With less than two weeks to go until Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline, talks between the two powers appear to have stalled.

The EU had been hoping for a deal similar to the U.K.’s, which maintained a 10% baseline tariff with some sector exemptions.

Trump has often bemoaned the EU’s 198 billion euro ($231 billion) trade surplus in goods with the U.S.

For its part, European Union officials say that trade is much more balanced when services and investments are taken into account. They have also pledged to increase oil and gas purchases to narrow the trade gap.

CNBC has contacted the European Commission, the executive body of the EU, for comment on the report, which sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a session low, trading more than 250 points lower.

Read the FT’s full story here.

— CNBC’s Jenni Reid contributed to this report.