U.S. President Donald Trump issued final tariff notices to seven minor trading partners on Wednesday as his administration inched closer to a deal with its biggest trading partner, the European Union.

The EU remains hopeful it will strike a deal to avoid steep levies Trump has threatened on its exports to the US.

But the EU is not expecting to achieve the same access to the US market as British steel, cars and other products subject to sectoral duties, according to six diplomats briefed on the issue. Trump, who championed the UK’s 2016 decision to leave the bloc, is also demanding 17 per cent tariffs on EU agrifood products.