Germany's Merz: will negotiate steel export quotas with US

BERLIN, Aug 1 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday said the European Union will negotiate with the United States on steel, focusing on quotas that can be exported without too high tariffs, after the two sides struck a trade deal last month.

The EU's trade deal with Trump in July was greeted with a mix of relief and anger, with tariffs set at 15% for most products but negotiations continuing for certain sectors, including steel and aluminium, which carries tariffs of 50%.

The task now is to work out the "fine print," Merz said in the city of Saarbruecken.

"This will particularly concern quotas that we can then export without being burdened with excessive tariffs."

Merz described the agreement as "painful" for the entire European industry but said the EU was not in a position to trigger a full-blown trade dispute.

"There would have been only losers, and the biggest losers would probably have been us, the Europeans."