"I would say we have a 50 percent chance, maybe even less, but a 50 percent chance of making a deal with the EU," Trump told reporters as he left the White House and prepared for a private trip to Scotland, according to the French news agency AFP.

The US president recently threatened to impose 30% tariffs on most EU imports on August 1. The sides have been negotiating for months, and have reportedly come closer to an agreement in recent days. On Wednesday, Trump expressed his willingness to reduce the threatened tariffs if the EU opens its market to US companies.

The European Commission said on Thursday that a trade deal between the EU and the US was within reach. Earlier, member states approved a proposal to impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods worth around €93 billion, which will come into effect on August 7 if talks fail.

Trump said his negotiators were working"diligently" with EU representatives, AFP reported, adding that they had not had much luck in negotiations with Canada, which Trump threatened with 35 percent tariffs.

Despite announcing in April that he would sign 90 trade deals in 90 days, Trump has so far only managed to conclude agreements with five countries - Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. He has concluded a temporary tariff truce with China.

Japan has generally imposed tariffs of 15 percent, the Philippines 19 percent, the UK 10 percent, Indonesia 19 percent, and Vietnam 20 percent.