The European Union has called on the United States to honor the trade tariff rate of 15 percent that was agreed at last year's summit in Scotland, amid continued threats from Washington to push the rate up on certain goods.

The deal, which was reached after face-to-face talks between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump nearly 12 months ago, was given tentative backing by the European Parliament last month, but since then Trump has threatened to put higher tariffs on vehicles from the EU, saying that Europe has not complied with the terms of the deal. At the same time, he has been putting pressure on Europe to remove tariffs on US goods.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic met his US counterpart, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in Paris for talks that were set up before Trump's latest threats, and in the build-up, Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said: "It's not the first time we have seen threats … we remain very calm, focused on enforcing the joint statement in the interests of our companies, of our citizens."

He also hit back at Trump's suggestion that the European side was dragging its heels over implementing the terms of the agreement, saying: "Since day one, we are implementing the (EU-US deal) and we are fully committed to delivering on our shared commitments."

A European representative said that when they met, Sefcovic gave Greer an update on progress toward the removal of EU duties on US industrial goods, which is now unlikely to happen before June.

"At the same time, (Sefcovic) called for a swift return to the agreed Turnberry terms, i.e. a 15 percent all-inclusive tariff rate, with the agreed carve-outs for the EU … it would be beneficial for the main features of the deal to be in place ahead of its one-year anniversary," the spokesperson added.

Disagreement on the European side over what steps to take next has highlighted internal tensions.

As a condition of their approval of the deal, members of the European Parliament want safeguards added to make EU tariff cuts dependent on the US keeping to its side of the deal, and they also want a so-called sunset clause that would see the deal expire in March 2028 unless it is renewed.

This stance is backed by the French government, with its EU affairs minister, Benjamin Haddad, recently telling the Politico website: "There is no reason to unilaterally implement a deal if it is not respected by the other side. Trade must be reciprocal. This is why we should not give up on the clauses."

But a German-led majority, thought to include the Baltic states, Greece, Ireland, and Sweden, prefers to stick to the original deal as agreed last year by von der Leyen and Trump.