The European Commission said on Thursday a negotiated trade solution with the United States is within reach - while EU members voted to approve counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.

At present, there are no tariffs on either sector while the US holds an investigation on national security grounds into imports of those goods. However, indications are that the investigation may result in the EU seeing a 15% tariff imposed on both pharmaceuticals and computer chips once the process concludes.

Any agreement would likely include a 15 per cent baseline tariff on EU goods entering the US and a 50 per cent levy on European steel and aluminium, according to diplomats familiar with the talks.