Europe and the US should have zero tariffs between them, Finnish foreign minister says
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Europe and the United States should have zero tariffs between them and Europe should aim for that in ongoing negotiations with the U.S., Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said on Tuesday, in line with a proposal by the European Commission.
"Engaging in a global trade war is the surest way to achieve a global recession," Valtonen told a joint press conference with her Swedish counterpart in Stockholm.
"But of course the European Union now has to react to what the U.S. has put forward," she added.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Monday that the EU would need to lower its non-tariff barriers, including those created by value-added taxes, if it wanted to reach a deal to lower U.S. tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
Sweden and Finland, who have long cooperated closely on defence, both joined NATO in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and have pushed for a hard line on Moscow ever since, while also rapidly ramping up defence spending.
The two Nordic countries have also been among the biggest contributors of military aid to Ukraine, with Sweden announcing its 19th and biggest package of spending on support for Ukraine last week.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard noted that economic growth would increase the possibilities to invest in the military and to support Ukraine.
"If we impose more tariffs and barriers that lead to less economic growth or recession, then there will be less money to spend on these crucial things," Stenergard said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Finland's Foreign Ministry summons Russian chargé d'affaires over airspace violation
Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned Russia's chargé d'affaires in response to a violation of the country's airspace. The meeting is scheduled for 11 June, but no further details have been disclosed. Source: Yle, a Finnish public service media company, citing the press service for Finland's Foreign Ministry, as reported by European Pravda Details: A chargé d'affaires is the deputy to an ambassador who assumes their duties in the ambassador's absence. The incident took place on the afternoon of Tuesday 10 June. A Russian aircraft reportedly entered Finnish airspace over the sea near the city of Porvoo. The Finnish Border Guard is conducting an investigation. This is not the first such incident in the region. Finnish authorities have repeatedly stated their readiness to respond decisively to any violation of national sovereignty. Background: On 23 May, Finland's Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to explain another airspace violation by Russian aircraft. At the time, Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen noted that Russian activity in the Baltic Sea had clearly increased, raising tensions in the region. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US will resume accreditation of Swiss investment advisers
(Reuters) -The U.S. will resume processing applications from Swiss entities aiming to become registered investment advisers in the U.S., the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Swiss financial market regulator FINMA said in separate statements on Tuesday. SEC had suspended new registrations for several years and would lift the ban with immediate effect after the watchdogs agreed on a direct transmission of information from Swiss institutions to SEC staff and on-site examinations, the statements said. "I am very pleased to announce that the SEC stands ready to provide prompt consideration of the registration applications from Swiss investment advisers," SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said. "I thank my FINMA counterparts for their collaboration and welcome their actions to make this possible." Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Peru, USA's top blueberry supplier, looks to China as tariffs hit
By Marco Aquino PISCO, Peru (Reuters) -In Peru's Pisco Desert, rows of blueberry bushes towering as much as two meters high stretch towards the horizon, finally giving way to sand dunes. Traditional blueberries need chilly nights to bring fruit, but genetic innovations have created varieties like Eureka Sunset that can grow in this kind of arid landscape some 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Lima. For more than a decade the healthy berries have rolled north to U.S. supermarket shelves, but there is a rival buyer in town: China. Growers in Peru are looking for new markets as production rises and their best customer, the United States, is waging a trade tariff war on partners around the world. China has insatiable demand and has built a huge new port near Lima that cuts shipping time across the Pacific in half. "There will be a rebalancing of export share to different markets," said Miguel Bentín, general manager of major producer the Valle y Pampa farm, which began production in 2012 when the blueberry harvest was a tenth of the size it is today. The desert has long been a source of grapes made for Pisco brandy, the base for Pisco Sour cocktails, but blueberry growers have transformed the landscape by drilling wells up to 100 meters (328 feet) deep to find water for the crops and bringing in workers to care for them. Now, Bentin says, they are looking for new buyers. "The full potential of the Chinese market for our products has not yet been fully realized," Bentín told Reuters at the farm. Valle y Pampa typically ships 60% of its blueberries to the United States and the rest to Europe. This year, though, it is planning its first big China shipment to mitigate the impact of a 10% U.S. tariff on all goods from Peru. Peru overtook Chile in 2021 as the world's largest exporter of blueberries and the sector has been adding new markets, according to half a dozen ministers, farming and export officials, and government presentations seen by Reuters. "The search for new markets in Asia, Europe and Oceania (Australia) for agricultural exports has intensified," Peru's Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Úrsula León said in mid-May, explaining that U.S. tariffs could slow the deep purple fruit's booming rise that boosted Peru's exports by some $2.3 billion last year. Production during the 2025-2026 harvest is expected to grow by 25% to 400,000 tons. "If the U.S. tariff measure is maintained, there would be a drop in shipments, especially in the agricultural, textile and mining sectors," added León following a meeting with the Trump administration. She named India, Indonesia and China as markets with growth potential. Peru is negotiating to end U.S. tariffs, which it says breach a free trade agreement. If supplies from Peru decrease, U.S. consumers will likely see prices rise. The Andean country is its top supplier of blueberries ahead of Mexico and Chile. "With a significant portion of produce being imported to the U.S. and not easily produced domestically, tariffs may have an impact on product availability," said Ben Wynkoop, global industry strategist of grocery & convenience, at Blue Yonder, which provides supply chain software to global retailers. "Depending on the severity of the shortage, smaller retailers with limited negotiation power may face significant inventory shortages, particularly for blueberries," he added. "It won't be a moderate effect, it will be quite big," said Gabriel Amaro, head of the Peruvian Association of Agricultural Producers' Guilds, adding farmers were lobbying the government to find ways to soften the blow and protect the free trade deal. "Our strategy is market diversification. We have a whole list of products, especially to open up markets in Asia." David Magaña, senior research analyst at Rabobank, who specializes in the global fruit market downplayed the impact of tariffs. For one, China produces its own berries for more months of the year than the United States, he said. "I don't think anybody in the industry is expecting China to surpass the U.S. as the primary destination for Peruvian blueberries," added Magaña. CHINA-OWNED PORT A 'GAME CHANGER' Peru's wider farm exports - also including grapes and avocados - rose 22% to $12.8 billion last year, mainly to the United States and Europe. Exports of blueberries dipped 30% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, reflecting a change in harvest timing. However, even as quarterly U.S. shipments ticked down, those to China rose, from a lower base. Peru's new Chinese-controlled port of Chancay, meanwhile, cuts the sea journey times to Asia in half to around 20 days, a big plus for keeping fruit fresh. China's Guangzhou port in April joined others by opening a direct route to Chancay. U.S. fruit firm Fruitist, which produces most of its blueberries in Peru and is one of the Andean country's top exporters of the fruit, sent some 15-18 containers of blueberries to China late last year via Chancay. "It transforms the shipping part, the logistical part for everyone who's in fresh fruit in Peru," said John Early, Fruitist's director of global sales. "There is a huge opportunity to expand that business in China." Back in the Pisco Desert, Valle y Pampa manager Bentín agreed, forecasting a noticeable increase to China as the harvest begins to peak around August. "The port of Chancay, especially with its costs and faster transit times, is a game changer," he said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
