‘Tough’ talks with China have yet to deliver, EU trade chief says

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — China and the EU “are definitely not there yet” on a prospective trade deal, Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told POLITICO Thursday, calling months of talks “constructive, but tough.” But the EU’s top trade official also emphasized the political pressure he is under to find that elusive common ground with Beijing. “I feel high political interest and, of course, very high expectations from the leaders all across the European Union,” Šefčovič said in an interview on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 trade ministers in Milwaukee. “I know how politically impatient the European leadership is.” Šefčovič travels to Beijing Oct.