Trade negotiators were scrambling yesterday to avoid the US resuming import tariffs on European Union steel and aluminum imposed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018 before November.

The Israel-Hamas war and a looming ground offensive by Israel into Gaza would likely dominate the discussions, von der Leyen said in Washington, warning about the risk of “regional spillover” from the conflict.

The Biden administration suspended tariffs on EU steel and aluminum imports on the condition that both sides agree by the end of this month on measures to address overcapacity in non-market economies such as China and to promote greener steel.

Any deal seems far off, with Washington keen on the EU applying the metal tariffs to imports from China and Brussels refusing to do so before a year-long investigation to comply with World Trade Organization rules.

Also elusive is a deal to lessen the hit from the US Inflation Reduction Act, which offers consumers tax breaks to buy electric vehicles (EVs) assembled in North America.

One of the sources said the two sides had made some progress on an agreement that would allow EVs with EU-sourced critical materials – cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese, and nickel – to qualify for partial tax breaks, but were unlikely to finalise an agreement before today’s summit.