EU threatens countermeasures over US tariffs; Trump says he is open to talks
More: Trump to send Ukraine weapons through NATO, threatens secondary tariffs on Russia
Trump, meanwhile, said he was open to further discussions with the EU and other trading partners before new 30% tariffs kick in next month and that EU officials would be coming to the United States for negotiations.
"They would like to do a different kind of a deal and we're always open to talk, including to Europe," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "In fact, they're coming over. They'd like to talk."
Trump stepped up his trade war on Saturday, saying he would impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico next month, following similar warnings for other countries, including Asian economic powerhouses Japan and South Korea.
The EU has so far held off on retaliatory measures to avoid a spiralling tit-for-tat escalation while there remains a chance of negotiating an improved outcome. But EU ministers emerging from a meeting in Brussels on Monday appeared closer to striking back.
Speaking at a news conference following the meeting, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the tariff threat "absolutely unacceptable."
More: Trump announces 30% tariffs on Mexico, European Union
EU Trade Chief Maros Sefcovic said he believed there was "still a potential to continue the negotiations" but voiced frustration with Washington's failure to agree to a deal with its largest trading partner.
"As I said before, it takes two hands to clap," he said, adding that EU member states agreed that the 27-nation bloc would need to take countermeasures if the trade negotiations with the U.S. fail.
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani earlier said the EU had already prepared a list of tariffs worth 21 billion euros ($24.5 billion) on U.S. goods if the two sides fail to reach a deal.
Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on July 14 that she believed the two sides would reach a deal on security ahead of the August 1 deadline.
The White House has clarified that the 30% tariffs on Mexico, which Trump has blamed for not doing more to stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States, would not apply to goods shipped under the USMCA trade agreement, which covers the vast majority of goods shipped from Mexico to the U.S.
Sheinbaum said any agreement would not involve U.S. forces entering Mexican territory, as previously floated by Trump.
European stocks dip
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said trade talks were still underway with the European Union, Canada and Mexico. Canada is facing a 35% tariff starting in August.
The threatened duties have sounded alarm bells in Europe, notably in Germany, the EU's biggest economy.
After Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that a 30% tariff would "hit the German export industry to the core", the head of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry called for swift action.
"The escalating tariff conflict with the USA poses a serious threat to many German companies," Volker Treier said on Monday. "Tough negotiations are now needed to avert a collapse of transatlantic trade."
European industries, meanwhile, are preparing for the worst.
Producers of Italy's renowned Chianti wine in Tuscany, for example, have demanded a new export strategy backed by the EU targeting alternative markets such as South America, Asia and Africa.
Since returning to the White House earlier this year, Trump has sought to use an array of tariffs to boost the U.S. economy, push companies to invest in the United States and revitalize manufacturing.
His initial "Liberation Day" tariff announcement in April, which set a baseline tariff of 10% on all imports and higher duties on certain products or countries, raised fears of global supply chain disruptions, sending shockwaves through markets.
But subsequent U-turns and delays, including a 90-day pause on most duties aimed at allowing time for trade deal negotiations, have left investors largely inured to Trump's chaotic policy rollouts.
European stocks fell on Monday, while U.S. indices were little changed in response to the latest salvo. European autos and alcohol stocks were among those hardest hit.
Scrambling for deals
The looming August 1 deadline has set off a scramble by governments around the world to seal trade agreements.
South Korea's top trade envoy said on Monday it may be possible to strike a deal "in principle" by the deadline and signalled that Seoul may be open to allowing the U.S. greater access to its agricultural markets, local media reported.
Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo, who held high-level talks with U.S. officials last week, said South Korea was seeking to avoid "unfair" U.S. tariffs on key sectors that would undermine industrial cooperation with its main security ally and trading partner, media reports said.
"I believe it's possible to reach an agreement in principle in the U.S. tariff negotiations, and then take some time to negotiate further," the Newsis news agency quoted Yeo as telling local media reporters.
"Twenty days are not enough to come up with a perfect treaty that contains every detail," he added.
South Korea is in a race to reach a compromise trade pact in the hope of avoiding a 25% tariff slapped on its exports, the same level faced by Japan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
a minute ago
- The Hill
Oliver, Stewart mourn CBS cancellation of Colbert
Jon Stewart and Jon Oliver, two of the biggest names in current events-focused comedy, expressed dismay at the decision by CBS to cancel 'Late Night' with Stephen Colbert. 'It's terrible, terrible news for the world of comedy,' Oliver said during a recent event in Erie, Pa., adding that he is 'partly excited to see' what Colbert and the show's staff 'do over the next 10 months.' CBS announced last week it was canceling Colbert's show, calling the move a 'financial' decision and saying 'Late Night' would conclude at the end of its current broadcast season. The news came just days after CBS's parent company, Paramount Global, agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump over a '60 Minutes' interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Colbert has for years been sharply critical of Trump, often mocking the president and his allies. During a recent podcast episode, Stewart, a prominent Trump critic, was asked if he was worried about his future at Comedy Central, which Paramount also owns. 'I'd like to think we bring enough value to the property,' he said. 'Like if they're looking at it as purely a real estate transaction. But I don't know. They may sell the whole f—— place for parts.' Paramount is trying to secure a mega merger with fellow entertainment giant Skydance, a multi-billion dollar deal that will need approval from Trump administration regulators to clear. The president has repeatedly railed against major media companies with news divisions he feels do not cover him fairly, and top officials at the FCC have suggested certain outlets face federal investigation.
The Hill
a minute ago
- The Hill
‘Please be careful.' There are risks and rewards as crypto heavyweights push tokenization
As cryptocurrencies become more intertwined with the traditional financial system, industry heavyweights are racing for a long-sought goal of turning real-world assets into digital tokens. 'Tokenization is going to open the door to a massive trading revolution,' said Vlad Tenev, the CEO of the trading platform Robinhood at a recent James Bond-themed tokenization launch event in the south of France. Advocates say tokenization is the next leap forward in crypto and can help break down walls that have advantaged the wealthy and make trading cheaper, more transparent and more accessible for everyday investors. But critics say tokenization threatens to undermine a century's worth of securities law and investor protections that have made the U.S. financial system the envy of the world. And Robinhood's push into tokenizing shares of private companies quickly faced pushback from one of the world's most popular startups. What is tokenization? The basic idea behind tokenization: Use blockchain technology that powers cryptocurrencies to create digital tokens as stand-ins for things like bonds, real estate or even fractional ownership of a piece of art and that can be traded like crypto by virtually anyone, anywhere at any time. The massive growth of stablecoins, which are a type of cryptocurrency typically bought and sold for $1, has helped fuel the appetite to tokenize other financial assets, crypto venture capitalist Katie Haun said on a recent podcast. She said tokenization will upend investing in ways similar to how streamers radically changed how people watch television. 'You used to have to sit there on a Thursday night and watch Seinfeld,' Haun said. 'You tune in at a specific time, you don't get to choose your program, you couldn't be watching a program like Squid Games from Korea. Netflix was market-expanding. In the same way, I think the tokenization of real-world assets will be market expanding.' Growing momentum Robinhood began offering tokenized stock trading of major U.S. public companies for its European customers earlier this month and gave away tokens to some customers meant to represent shares in OpenAI and SpaceX, two highly valued private companies. Several other firms are diving in. Crypto exchange Kraken also allows customers outside the U.S. to trade tokenized stocks while Coinbase has petitioned regulators to open the market to its U.S. customers. Wall Street giants BlackRock and Franklin Templeton currently offer tokenized money market funds. McKinsey projects that tokenized assets could reach $2 trillion by 2030. Crypto's golden age The push for tokenization comes at a heady time in crypto, an industry that's seen enormous growth from the creation and early development of bitcoin more than 15 years ago by libertarian-leaning computer enthusiasts to a growing acceptance in mainstream finance. The world's most popular cryptocurrency is now regularly setting all-time highs — more than $123,000 on Monday — while other forms of crypto like stablecoins are exploding in use and the Trump administration has pledged to usher in what's been called the 'golden age' for digital assets. Lee Reiners, a lecturing fellow at Duke University, said the biggest winners in the push for tokenization could be a small handful of exchanges like Robinhood that see their trading volumes and influence spike. 'Which is kind of ironic given the origins of crypto, which was to bypass intermediaries,' Reiners said. Trump bump Interest in tokenization has also gotten a boost thanks to the election of President Donald Trump, who has made enacting more crypto-friendly regulations a top priority of his administration and signed a new law regulating stablecoins on Friday. 'Tokenization is an innovation and we at the SEC should be focused on how do we advance innovation at the marketplace,' said Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins. Is it legal? Securities law can be complex and even defining what is a security can be a hotly debated question, particularly in crypto. The crypto exchange Binance pulled back offerings of tokenized securities in 2021 after German regulators raised questions about potential violations of that country's securities law. Under Trump, the SEC has taken a much less expansive view than the previous administration and dropped or paused litigation against crypto companies that the agency had previously accused of violating securities law. Hilary Allen, a professor at the American University Washington College of Law, said crypto companies have been emboldened by Trump's victory to be more aggressive in pushing what they can offer. 'The most pressing risk is (tokenization) being used as a regulatory arbitrage play as a way of getting around the rules,' she said. However, the SEC has struck a cautionary tone when it comes to tokens. Shortly after Robinhood's announcement, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who has been an outspoken crypto supporter, issued a statement saying companies issuing tokenized stock should consider 'their disclosure obligations' under federal law. 'As powerful as blockchain technology is, it does not have magical abilities to transform the nature of the underlying asset,' Peirce said. All eyes on private companies One of the most closely watched areas of tokenization involves private companies, which aren't subject to strict financial reporting requirements like publicly traded ones. Many hot startups are not going public as often as they used to and instead are increasingly relying on wealthy and institutional investors to raise large sums of money and stay private. That's unfair to the little guy, say advocates of tokenization. 'These are massive wealth generators for a very small group of rich, well-connected insiders who get access to these deals early,' said Robinhood executive Johann Kerbrat. 'Crypto has the power to solve this inequality.' 'Please be careful' But Robinhood's giveaway of tokens meant to represent an investment in OpenAI immediately drew pushback from the company itself, which said it was not involved in Robinhood's plan and did not endorse it. 'Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval—we did not approve any transfer,' OpenAI said on social media. 'Please be careful.' Public companies have strict public reporting requirements about their financial health that private companies don't have to produce. Such reporting requirements have helped protect investors and give a legitimacy to the U.S. financial system, said Allen, who said the push for tokenized sales of shares in private companies is 'eerily familiar' to how things played out before the creation of the SEC nearly a century ago. 'Where we're headed is where we were in the 1920s,' she said. 'Door-to-door salesmen offering stocks and bonds, half of it had nothing behind it, people losing their life savings betting on stuff they didn't understand.'
The Hill
a minute ago
- The Hill
Five myths about Medicaid reform in Trump's ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act'
While the centerpiece of the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' is tax cuts, it also includes historic reforms to welfare programs such as Medicaid. These changes have faced a torrent of criticism, and many dubious talking points have been baked into mainstream media coverage. Five myths about Medicaid reform stand out as especially misleading. The first Medicaid myth is that reforms are 'deep cuts' or 'slashing' the program. This relies on a misunderstanding of the weird way that Washington does budget math. The Congressional Budget Office assumes that most federal spending increases every year, often at rates far exceeding economic growth. Any legislation reducing the rate of a program's growth is then called a 'cut' even if spending goes up every year thereafter. This is the case with Medicaid. Following the passage of reconciliation bill, the program's spending will still grow roughly 3 percent per year, in line with the broader economy. That is not even a cut, let alone a 'deep' cut. The second Medicaid reform myth is that bill will 'take away' healthcare for vulnerable groups. While it is estimated that several million people would lose Medicaid coverage, this is due entirely to commonsense provisions. The largest group losing Medicaid will be an estimated 4.8 million able-bodied adults who fail to meet 'community engagement' standards. This involves just 20 hours a week of work, educational activity or volunteering — a generous standard. Next, an increase in eligibility verification will prevent an estimated 2.2 million people who do not qualify for Medicaid from receiving benefits. Lax enforcement has fostered an astonishing amount of waste and corruption in the program, potentially costing taxpayers more than $100 billion per year. Perhaps most egregiously, 1.4 million illegal immigrants receive benefits directly or indirectly through Medicaid as a result of state governments using funding gimmicks. Trump's bill will finally rein in this malfeasance. The third Medicaid reform myth is that reforms will 'devastate' rural hospitals. This talking point has been heavily promoted by hospital groups whose top priority is maximizing federal handouts. In reality, reforms to how the federal government reimburses states will have a negligible effect on rural hospitals, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's $50 billion rural hospital fund will more than make up the difference. The fourth Medicaid reform myth is that because the Trump coalition includes blue-collar or working-class households that sometimes use safety net programs, the changes are a 'betrayal.' This claim has it backward. The Medicaid reforms exemplify the values of working-class America. Implementing modest work requirements and shutting down various types of graft show respect for hard-earned tax dollars. Wanting blue-collar workers to pay the medical bills of able-bodied adults who choose not to work is the real betrayal of workers. The final Medicaid myth is that the new budget reconciliation bill will 'take life-saving care' from children, the disabled and pregnant women. Not only is this wrong, but it also ignores a growing problem facing the Medicaid system. The program, initially designed to help a handful of truly vulnerable groups, has been massively expanded over the last 16 years. As a result, many medical practices are unable to take on new Medicaid patients, causing recipients to wait longer and travel further for the care they need. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's Medicaid reforms will allow the program's resources to be focused on the vulnerable, giving them better access to medical care. Don't believe the myths. Removing waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid will make it more affordable for taxpayers and more effective for those who need it most.
