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PARIS (AP) 鈥� Europe and the United States are meeting in Paris to negotiate a settlement of a tense tariff spat with global economic ramifications between two global economic powerhouses.

The European Union鈥檚 top trade negotiator, Maro拧 艩ef膷ovi膷, met Wednesday with his American counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

鈥淲e鈥檙e advancing in the right direction at pace 鈥� and staying in close contact to maintain the momentum,鈥� 艩ef膷ovi膷 posted on social media platform X alongside a photo of him shaking hands with Greer.

Brussels and Washington are unlikely to reach a substantive trade agreement in Paris. The issues dividing them are too difficult to resolve quickly.

President Donald Trump regularly fumes about America鈥檚 persistent trade deficit with the European Union, which was a record $161 billion last year, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Trump blames the gap between what the U.S. sells and what it buys from Europe on unfair trade practices and often singles out for criticism the EU鈥檚 10% tax on imported cars. America鈥檚 was 2.5% until Trump raised it to 25% in April. The EU has argued its purchases of U.S. services, especially in the technology sector, all but overcome the deficit.

After the Trump administration鈥檚 surprise tariffs last week on steel rattled global markets and complicated the ongoing, wider tariff negotiations between Brussels and Washington, the EU on Monday said it is preparing 鈥渃ountermeasures鈥� against the U.S.

The EU has offered the U.S. a 鈥渮ero for zero鈥� deal in which both sides end tariffs on industrial goods, including autos. Trump has rejected that idea, but EU officials say it鈥檚 still on the table.

The EU could buy more liquefied natural gas and defense items from the U.S., and lower duties on cars, but it isn鈥檛 likely to budge on calls to scrap the value added tax, which is akin to a sales tax, or open up the EU to American beef.

鈥淲e still have a few weeks to have this discussion and negotiation,” French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said in Paris on Wednesday ahead of the OECD meeting. 鈥淚f the discussion and negotiation do not succeed, Europe is capable of having countermeasures on American products and services as well.”

Greta Peisch, who was general counsel for the U.S. trade representative in the Biden administration, said the zero-for-zero proposal could provide a way to make progress if the Trump administration 鈥渋s looking for a reason not to impose tariffs on the EU.鈥欌��

But Peisch, now a partner at the Wiley Rein law firm, wondered: 鈥淗ow motivated is the U.S. to come to a deal with the EU?鈥欌�� Trump, after all, has longstanding grievances complaints about EU trade practices.

One target of his ire is the value-added tax, similar to U.S. state sales taxes.

Trump and his advisers consider VATs unfair protectionism because they are levied on U.S. products. But VATs are set at a national level, not by the EU, and apply to domestic and imported products alike, so they have not traditionally been considered a trade barrier. There is little chance governments will overhaul their tax systems to appease Trump.

Likewise, the Europeans are likely to balk at U.S. demands to scrap food and safety regulations that Washington views as trade barriers. These include bans on hormone-raised beef, chlorinated chicken and genetically modified foods.

鈥淲hen you start talking about chickens or GMOs or automobile safety standards, you鈥檙e talking about the ways countries choose to regulate their economies,鈥� Reinsch said. 鈥淲e think that鈥檚 protectionist. They think it鈥檚 keeping their citizens healthy … It鈥檚 been a sore point for 60 years.鈥欌��

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McNeil reported from Barcelona and Wiseman reported from Washington, D.C.