Donald Trump has escalated his demands in trade negotiations with the EU, pushing for a minimum tariff of 15 to 20 per cent in any deal with the bloc, according to three people briefed on the talks.

President Trump said he plans to write to many nations setting a blanket unilateral tariff rate, which he said could be 10% or 15%. "We’ll have well over 150 countries that we’re just going to send a notice of payment out" detailing tariffs,