The EU's hopes for a breakthrough in the trade conflict with the USA have been severely dampened shortly before the EU-US summit in Brussels next Tuesday.
This also applies to the planned close cooperation on climate protection.
The Americans have rejected a draft of the EU for an ambitious final declaration on both topics, as emerges from an internal EU Council document that the FAZ has received.
Hendrik Kafsack
Business correspondent in Brussels.
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It was about central points such as a quick end to protective tariffs on steel and aluminum or common minimum CO2 prices.
The feedback on the trade disputes was "disappointing," says the EU document.
The US did not want deadlines for the tariffs to be lifted.
They also showed themselves to be "closed to the settlement of disputes at the WTO".
The EU had proposed that both sides commit to abolishing steel tariffs by December and breathing new life into the WTO.
According to the report, the balance sheet for climate protection looks similarly disappointing.
"The US is less ambitious when it comes to phasing out coal," the paper says.
"The US didn't want CO2 pricing."
At least they are willing to work with the EU on how to solve the problem of carbon leakage. The aim is to prevent EU companies from being no longer competitive because of the ambitious European climate targets. The EU wants to introduce a CO2 border tax for this.