There is a fundamental difference between how the EU and the US are approaching the current trade talks which are continuing ahead of the July 9 deadline.

On the US side, President Trump has favoured a blanket-tariff approach, where all the exports from the EU will be subject to a 10% levy, possibly rising to 20% or even 50%, depending on how the next few weeks of talks go.

On the EU side, there is a more targeted approach being taken, with a list of imports from the US published of the commodities which may be hit with countermeasures.

That list, which runs to 218 pages, has 70 pages of food, drink and agricultural products covering everything from bourbon whiskey to strawberry jam to bull semen.

While some products are notable by their absence, such as butter and animal feed crops, agricultural machinery, tractors and meat are included. The complete list covers €95bn of EU imports from the US and includes big-ticket items such as American made aircraft, vehicles and vehicle parts as well as wine and spirits.

The granularity of the list of items means Irish businesses will need to take some time to figure out if their supply chains are directly impacted should the measures be put in place.

For now, the list is just one of the potential countermeasures. EU negotiators say they are pushing for a “mutually beneficial trade deal” with the US, while Washington is demanding large concessions from the bloc.

Red lines

Among some of those which are seen as red lines in Brussels are a reduction in value-added tax in US goods as well as a reduction in EU food standards.

Despite the unfeasibility of some of the US demands, EU negotiators said that the call between Trump and Ursula von der Leyen at the weekend had added a new impetus to the talks.

There are five weeks for both sides to find a deal that can work for everyone.

Minster for Agriculture Martin Heydon said in Brussels this week that the EU is “one of the most important trading partners for the US, so we shouldn’t just agree to whatever the demand is from the White House.

We should explain the mutually beneficial nature of the trade”.