EU countries approve launch of US trade talks

EU member states gave the green light on Thursday for Brussels to open trade talks with Washington, diplomatic sources said, ending months of stalemate due to opposition from France.

The negotiating mandate was now set to be adopted without discussion by EU agriculture ministers on Monday in Brussels, a European diplomat told AFP.

Envoys from the EU's 28 member states had struggled to agree on a mandate to open trans-Atlantic talks, with some fearing the revival of a trade war with President Donald Trump.

Pursuing a limited trade deal is a central component of an EU-US truce negotiated in July that has come close to imploding after the US on Tuesday threatened $11 billion in fresh trade tariffs against Europe.

Paris had blocked the mandate to lanch talks worried of domestic blowback just months ahead of European elections, set for May 22 to 26.

To satisfy its demands, France's EU partners agreed to insist on guarantees on the environment during the talks from the US, which pulled out .