EU, US to end trade tariffs, call for new study into COVID-19 origins, summit draft says

The leaders of the European Union and the United States are set to commit to lifting steel tariffs before December 1 2021 and avoid any further transatlantic trade disputes, according to a draft statement prepared for a June 15 summit in Brussels.

The draft, seen by Reuters and which will be discussed by EU ambassadors on Wednesday, also commits to ending a long-running spat over subsidies to aircraft makers before July 11.

Both sides will agree to cooperate on facing China's economic, political and military rise policy and also call for a new study into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, first detected in China.


"We call for progress on a transparent, evidence-based ... study on the origins of COVID-19, that is free from interference," the draft said.