The United States has warned the European Union that it may impose a 17% tariff on all EU agricultural and food exports, according to a Financial Times report confirmed by an EU diplomat. The message was delivered to EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič during meetings in Washington this week and represents a sharp escalation of the trans-Atlantic trade dispute. The threat comes just days before a 9 July deadline, when tariffs that Washington suspended in April are due to be either confirmed or further postponed. U.S. negotiators are pressing Brussels to grant broad regulatory exemptions for U.S. companies and to narrow the EU’s goods trade surplus with America. European officials say the bloc is seeking an indefinite pause in U.S. duties but is preparing a package of retaliatory measures valued at up to €72 billion if talks collapse. EU agri-food shipments to the United States were worth about €48 billion last year, meaning the proposed levy could cost European producers billions of euros, hitting major exporters such as France, Italy and Spain. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she still hopes for an “agreement in principle” before the deadline, while member-state ambassadors discuss contingency plans. Markets and exporters on both sides of the Atlantic are now watching whether the two largest developed-economy trading partners can avoid a renewed tariff spiral.