Trade Secretary to push for timeline on US tariff exemption
He said: 'Our deals with the US, EU and India are proof that the UK is the most connected country in the world to do business. Along with our modern industrial strategy, our Plan for Change is making the UK a safe, stable bet in uncertain times.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
US and Europe trade negotiators discuss tariffs in Paris
The European Union's top trade negotiator, Maros Sefcovic, met on Wednesday with his American counterpart, US trade representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 'We're advancing in the right direction at pace,' Mr Sefcovic said at a news conference. He said ongoing technical meetings between EU and US negotiators in Washington would be soon followed by a video conference between himself and Mr Greer to then 'assess the progress and charter the way forward'. Brussels and Washington are unlikely to reach a substantive trade agreement in Paris. The issues dividing them are too difficult to resolve quickly. US President Donald Trump regularly criticises America's persistent trade deficit with the European Union, which was a record 161 billion dollars (£119 billion)last year, according to the US Commerce Department. Mr Trump blames the gap between what the US sells and what it buys from Europe on unfair trade practices and often singles out for criticism the EU's 10% tax on imported cars. America's was 2.5% until Mr Trump raised it to 25% in April. The EU has argued its purchases of US services, especially in the technology sector, all but overcome the deficit. After the Trump administration's surprise tariffs last week on steel rattled global markets and complicated the ongoing, wider tariff negotiations between Brussels and Washington, the EU on Monday said it is preparing 'countermeasures' against the US. The EU has offered the US a 'zero for zero' deal in which both sides end tariffs on industrial goods, including cars. Mr Trump has rejected that idea, but EU officials say it is still on the table. The EU could buy more liquefied natural gas and defence items from the US, and lower duties on cars, but it is not likely to budge on calls to scrap the value added tax, which is akin to a sales tax, or open up the EU to American beef. 'We still have a few weeks to have this discussion and negotiation,' French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said in Paris on Wednesday ahead of the OECD meeting. 'If the discussion and negotiation do not succeed, Europe is capable of having countermeasures on American products and services as well.' Greta Peisch, who was general counsel for the US trade representative in the Biden administration, said the zero-for-zero proposal could provide a way to make progress if the Trump administration 'is looking for a reason not to impose tariffs on the EU'. But Ms Peisch, now a partner at the Wiley Rein law firm, added: 'How motivated is the US to come to a deal with the EU?' Mr Trump, after all, has longstanding grievances and complaints about EU trade practices. One target of his ire is the value-added tax. Mr Trump and his advisers consider VATs unfair protectionism because they are levied on US products. But VATs are set at a national level, not by the EU, and apply to domestic and imported products alike, so they have not traditionally been considered a trade barrier. There is little chance governments will overhaul their tax systems to appease Mr Trump. Likewise, the Europeans are likely to balk at US demands to scrap food and safety regulations that Washington views as trade barriers. These include bans on hormone-raised beef, chlorinated chicken and genetically modified foods. 'When you start talking about chickens or GMOs or automobile safety standards, you're talking about the ways countries choose to regulate their economies,' Ms Peisch said. 'We think that's protectionist. They think it's keeping their citizens healthy … It's been a sore point for 60 years.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
The euro is about to get a new member. What does that mean?
The European Union has given the green light for Bulgaria to become the 21st member of the euro currency union. The decision on Wednesday allows the Balkan nation of 6.4 million people to replace its national currency, the lev, with the euro, effective January 1. The move is a key step in the EU's ongoing project to strengthen the connections between its member countries. Here are basic facts about the currency union - also called the eurozone - and how countries join it. What is the euro? The euro is a shared currency and monetary system launched in 1999 when 11 EU member countries irrevocably fixed their currencies to the euro as an accounting currency, then swapped out the national notes and coins in 2002. The EU established the European Central Bank to handle monetary policy and set interest rate benchmarks for member countries, similar to the role of the U.S. Federal Reserve. How do countries join the euro? Countries must meet four criteria: low inflation, keeping deficits and debt under control, low long-term interest rates and a stable exchange rate between their currency and the euro. Countries must go through a two-year 'waiting room' in which their currency does not fluctuate excessively against the euro. The process is meant to demonstrate that their economies are sustainably converging with that of the eurozone. Once the European Commission determines that requirements have been met, the member governments of the EU decide by what's called a qualified majority vote. Approval needs a minimum of 55 per cent of member states representing at least 65 per cent of the EU population. After joining, countries face rules limiting debt and deficits. Those rules are intended to keep countries from running large deficits that could undermine the euro. What is Bulgaria's situation? The European Commission ruled on Wednesday that Bulgaria has met the requirements, seconded by an opinion from the ECB. The matter now goes to a vote at a meeting of EU finance ministers slated for July 8. EU officials say the vote is a done deal. Bulgaria is unusual in that it pegged its currency, the lev, to the euro right from the beginning of monetary union in 1999, even before it joined the European Union in 2007. Bulgaria also has very low levels of debt, only 24.1 per cent of annual economic output. That is well below the 60 per cent level set in the economic criteria for eurozone membership. The last step was getting inflation below the benchmark of 2.8 per cent, or no more than 1.5 per cent higher than the average of the three lowest eurozone members. There were concerns about the level of corruption and money laundering in the EU's poorest country. The commission and the ECB found, however, that Bulgaria has made progress in those areas. What do people in Bulgaria think about the euro? The most recent Eurobarometer poll carried out by the EU showed that 50 per cent of Bulgarians were opposed and 43 per cent were in favour. Reasons include fears of inflation, distrust of official institutions in a country that has had seven governments in four years, and widespread misinformation on social media. The issue has been taken up by pro-Russian nationalist politicians who argue for keeping the national currency. President Rumen Radev stoked anti-euro forces with a proposal for a referendum, which was rejected by parliament. Misinformation included false claims that the euro would allow EU officials to confiscate dormant bank accounts or use a digital euro to control people. On January 1, only euros will be dispensed from cash machines, though both currencies will circulate in cash for a month. After that, lev notes can be exchanged at banks for 12 months and for an unlimited time at the Bulgarian National Bank. What are the advantages of euro membership? In theory, the euro means lower interest rates for business and consumers and eases cross-border trade within the eurozone. Companies no longer have to engage in currency exchange transactions or worry that exchange rate shifts will erode their profits or holdings. Travellers no longer have to pay commissions at an exchange booth or on their credit card bill when vacationing or on a business trip to another EU country. Member countries get a seat on the ECB's rate-setting council and so have a voice in eurozone-wide monetary policy. Are there disadvantages or risks? Countries that join lose some authority over their own economy. They give up their ability to set their own interest rates, and face restrictions on government spending and deficits, though those rules have proved flexible in practice. And they can no longer gain competitiveness relative to other countries by allowing their currency's exchange rate to devalue. Bitter memories remain of the debt and economic crisis that shook the eurozone in 2010 to 2015. After Greece admitted its deficit and debts were much larger than previously reported, it wound up defaulting on its debts, and market turmoil spread to other eurozone countries. Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Cyprus were bailed out with loans by the other eurozone governments, in return for strict austerity measures that impacted many ordinary people, including government workers and retirees. Has the euro been strengthened since then? ECB President Mario Draghi is credited with defusing the eurozone crisis in 2012 by saying that the central bank would do 'whatever it takes' to save the euro. The ECB then said it could intervene in bond markets to support countries hit by turmoil, a safeguard that calmed markets even though it was never used. Later, other backstops were added, including a eurozone bailout fund and moving banking oversight from sometimes-lax national supervisors to the ECB. Why aren't all 27 members of the EU in the euro? Countries agree to join the euro as part of joining the EU, but not all have made the effort to meet the economic requirements. There is no time window to join. Denmark was granted an opt-out, while Sweden rejected the euro in a 2003 referendum despite not having an opt out and has no target date to join. Other non-members are Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Romania. Officials in Poland, the biggest non-member, have shown little interest in joining despite acknowledging the obligation to join someday. The winner of Sunday's presidential election, Karol Nawrocki, campaigned on keeping the zloty currency. The country's economy has grown strongly without euro membership, doubling in size over the past two decades as its standard of living has almost caught up with Western Europe since emerging from communist rule in 1989.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
EU, China tackle trade issues ahead of leaders' summit
PARIS, June 4 (Reuters) - The European Union's trade chief on Wednesday said Brussels and Beijing were working hard to address issues in their trade relationship ahead of a July summit, as Europe joined a chorus of alarm over China's stranglehold on critical minerals. Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic described talks in Paris with China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao as "focused and in depth", though there was no clear sign of progress in resolving the tit-for-tat dispute over European tariffs on Chinese-made EVs and Chinese anti-dumping measures on European brandy. U.S. President Donald Trump's upending of global trade has injected energy into EU trade negotiations with countries including China, although the EU still has deep concerns over what it calls market-distorting Chinese state aid and barriers to the Chinese market. The talks took place against a backdrop of growing concern about China's export restrictions on critical minerals and magnets which have impacted supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers and semi-conductor companies globally. Europe faces a delicate task to advance its own trading relationship with China without riling the Trump administration, which has hit European steel and aluminium with 50% tariffs and has threatened the bloc with 50% reciprocal tariffs if no trade deal is forthcoming. Sefcovic held separate meetings in Paris with Wang and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and he said talks with the U.S. were moving in the right direction. Europe's diversification of raw material supply chains is critical to guaranteeing economic autonomy, EU Industry Commissioner Stephane Sejourne said on Wednesday. "We must reduce our dependencies on all countries, particularly on countries like China, on which we are more than 100% dependent," Sejourne told a press conference in Brussels. European and Chinese leaders are due to meet next month at a summit in Beijing to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties. China is the EU's second largest trading partner after the United States, with bilateral trade reaching 793 billion euros in 2023, according to EU data. Shares in Europe's Airbus ( opens new tab rose on Wednesday as evidence of talks to sell hundreds of planes to China gathered pace. The dispute with Beijing over Chinese duties on brandy is proving tougher to resolve with the French cognac industry bearing the brunt of the levies. France's trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin told Wang he wanted "responsible dialogue" while Wang said it was necessary to find solutions based on "win-win cooperation", according to a Chinese commerce ministry statement.
