EU backs down from trade retaliation as Trump threatens 30pc tariffs
The EU's tariffs on US steel and aluminium exports were due to come into effect from midnight on Monday, but Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said these will now be put on hold until early August.
The reprieve will give negotiators in Brussels more time as they battle to secure a trade agreement with the US. The import tariffs threatened by the US president on Saturday night are three times higher than those imposed on Britain.
Ms Von der Leyen said: 'We have always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution. This remains the case, and we will use the time that we have now.'
Her comments represent a marked shift in tone from the EU, which has been attempting to play hardball with the US president.
Writing on Truth Social on Saturday, Mr Trump warned the EU and Mexico they faced higher tariffs from August 1. His announcement came after weeks of negotiations between US officials and major trading partners.
In an open letter to Ms Von der Leyen, Mr Trump wrote: 'We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with the European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent trade deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-tariff policies, and trade barriers.
'Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal ... This deficit is a major threat to our economy and, indeed, our national security.'
European divide
Britain was the first country to independently strike a deal with Washington in May, although most exports are subject to a 10pc tariff.
Ms Von der Leyen said the bloc would not implement its list of counter-tariffs and instead stated 'the time is for negotiations'.
She also announced a 'political agreement' with Indonesia to conclude with a free trade deal in September.
'When economic uncertainty meets geopolitical volatility, partners like us must come closer together,' she told Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, in a thinly veiled swipe at the US.
Leaders across the EU remain divided on whether the bloc should continue to negotiate with the aim of securing an improved deal or opt for a trade framework.
Lars Klingbeil, Germany's finance minister, said that 'serious and solution-oriented negotiations' with the Trump administration were still necessary.
'Our hand remains outstretched but we won't accept just anything,' Mr Klingbeil told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
He warned that the EU would have to take 'decisive counter measures' if an agreement with the US could not be reached.
Simon Harris, Ireland's foreign affairs minister, told RTE: 'We prefer to do our negotiations around the table. He tends to do his negotiations on Truth Social and he can do it however he wishes … we're continuing to intensively engage.'
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, called on the European Commission to 'assert the Union's determination to defend European interests resolutely'. He added that retaliation from the bloc might need to include anti-coercion measures.
However, Matteo Salvini, Italy's deputy prime minister, hit out at the EU's negotiation strategy.
'Trump has no reason to attack our country but once again we are paying the price for a German-led Europe,' he said.
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The Independent
34 minutes ago
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Times
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The Guardian
41 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Europe gives Iran deadline to contain nuclear programme or see sanctions reinstated
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