CNBC’s assignment desk has a conundrum this week: how to approach July, 9.
Why does this specific date matter? It’s the deadline for trade negotiations between the U.S. and European Union before the tariffs axe (maybe) falls once again.
But President Donald Trump’s tendency to move deadlines makes it tricky to commit to a big coverage plan when the date could become redundant. However — as we saw with the surprise framework agreed between the U.S. and China in Geneva back in April — you also can’t afford to underplay the deadlines’ significance.
What we do know is that a full trade deal is “impossible” before the deadline, in the words of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and that the best Brussels can hope for is an “agreement in principle.”
