Economic policy leaders of European Union member nations are looking at their options to manage promised tariffs from President Donald Trump.

Germany’s Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is pushing other EU nations to move quickly to at least get a minimal framework in place with Trump as his July 9 deadline approaches. The Wall Street Journal reported that Merz believes many EU nations are moving too slowly to reach a trade agreement with Trump. He complained this week that the EU’s negotiating process had become “far too complicated,” and had lost sight of manageable, potential industry-specific exemptions, or even sliding-scale tariffs.

Trump in May told an audience at the White House that he was preparing for a tough battle with EU nations, calling them “nastier than China” on trade deals.

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