EU confident it will avoid 500% tariffs from US Senate sanctions bill

Euronews

2 days ago

The European Commission is confident that the European Union will manage to avoid the economic blowback from a new US Senate bill that envisions 500% tariffs on importers of Russian energy, which, if applied, would wreck about a dozen member states.
"We are in the process of phasing out imports of fossil fuels from Russia, and therefore, this should ultimately not be a problem," Paula Pinho, the Commission's chief spokesperson, said on Tuesday afternoon.
The draft law, jointly promoted by Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, foresees primary sanctions against Russia and secondary sanctions against its clients in an attempt to force the Kremlin into serious negotiations for a lasting peace in Ukraine.
Graham has described it as "the most draconian bill I've ever seen in my life in the Senate", while Blumenthal said the sweeping restrictions would be "bone-crushing" and place Russia's economy "on a trade island".
The project has amassed over 80 signatures in the 100-seat chamber, an impressive amount of bipartisan support aimed at securing President Donald Trump's backing.
Trump has so far refused to apply further pressure on Moscow, causing dismay among European allies, who have pledged to move forward with restrictions on their own.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met Graham on Monday to discuss new ways to tighten the screws on Russia, including a new package of EU sanctions, which she previewed last month, and the Senate bill.
"Pressure works, as the Kremlin understands nothing else," von der Leyen said.
The read-out from the meeting was positive in tone but conspicuously avoided any reference to the 500% tariffs and the potential havoc it could cause the bloc's economy.
On Tuesday, the Commission sought to assuage these fears by highlighting the growing cooperation between the two sides of the Atlantic, which has suffered no shortage of setbacks since Trump's return to the White House.
"The idea is to coordinate as much as possible (but) it cannot be identical," Pinho said.
"We believe that (...) the combination of these sets of (sanction) packages would have an even greater impact on Russia, and that is the objective, on both sides, on the EU and the US. We're working forward and further in preparing these two."
The spokesperson pointed to the step-by-step roadmap that the Commission has presented to eliminate all remaining purchases of Russian energy by the end of 2027 as proof of the bloc's commitment to cut ties with Moscow. The roadmap is still in the early stages and needs to be fleshed out into legislative texts.
Notably, the bill proposed by Graham and Blumenthal includes a provision that would allow the US president to spare specific countries, goods and services from the 500% tariff through a one-time waiver based on "national security interests".
The two senators have publicly said the prime target of the secondary sanctions would be China and India, the largest importers of Russian oil, rather than Western allies. Still, the 500% tariffs could unleash market turmoil affecting all corners of the world.
"The world has a lot of cards to play against Putin," Graham told the Associated Press after a trip to Kyiv. "We're going to hit China and India for propping up his war machine."
The Commission did not say whether it would formally request the one-time waiver.
"This remains to be seen," Pinho said. "These (sanctions) are being prepared. We don't know whether it will go through in the Senate."
As of today, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal buy Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG); Italy, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria buy Russian pipeline gas; and Hungary and Slovakia buy Russian pipeline oil.
Additionally, five countries – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Finland – operate Russian-made nuclear reactors that rely on specific Russian-made fuels.
A future without human workers seems out of question, at least for now.
Despite the growth of digital technologies, manual labour will still likely be in highest demand in the next five years, according to World Economic Forum research.
The highest number of new positions - over 35 million worldwide - will be created for farmworkers and other agricultural employees.
There could also be almost 10 million additional jobs for truck drivers (including delivery drivers), plus over 5 million new app and software developers, as well as building framers.
Speaking about the fastest-growing sectors however and it's all about tech.
Big-data specialists top the chart with almost +120% jobs created, followed by FinTech engineers at nearly +100% and AI and machine learning specialists with +80%.
Clerks of all sorts and administration roles appear among the most vulnerable.
In absolute losses, the biggest hit is expected for cashiers and ticket clerks, with a projection pointing to a drop of 15 million jobs.
Administrative assistants could also see five million positions eliminated, followed by building cleaners, housekeepers and warehouse staff facing a potential decline of 5 million each.
Similarly, the fastest disappearing positions are all clerical: Almost 40% less for postal service workers and bank tellers and around 20% for data entry assistants and cashiers.
This doesn't mean however that all shop jobs will decline.
Salespersons and assistants place fifth on overall growth, with nearly 5 million additional jobs expected to be created.
The survey also explores how the human-technology relationship in the workplace is expected to evolve.
Currently, around 48% of tasks are performed by humans, 32% involve a mix of humans and technology, and 20% are performed solely by technology.
By 2030, this balance could shift significantly: Just 34% of tasks are expected to remain "human-only," with another 34% shared between people and technology and 32% handled entirely by technology.
In order to achieve the best AI-worker efficiency, European employers are ready to both hire new staff as well as retrain the existing workforce.
Both options are being planned by the majority of employers, with retraining having an edge (79%) over hiring new people (65%).
The report claims 59% of the world's workforce will need to be retrained by 2030.
European economies are bracing for mounting hiring challenges: 54% of employers fear that talent shortages will worsen, a rate well above the global average.
In Spain, skill gaps are perceived as a key barrier to adapting to change.
The majority of Spanish employers (60%), believe the solution lies in public policy reforms to make hiring and firing practices easier, while 49% would like more leeway in setting wages.
In France, 46% think adjustments to pensions and retirement age could help boost talent availability.
In general, digitalisation, climate mitigation and the rising cost of living are the top forces expected to reshape Europe's labour market by 2030.
But geopolitical uncertainty is also looming large, especially in the UK, where 56% cite geopolitical tensions as a potential key driver of change.
The sentiment is echoed in Germany (52%), Europe's largest economy, which recently became the world's fourth biggest military spender.
In contrast, most Italian employers are more focused on climate change.
A striking 70% see green investments as the main force driving transformation, far above the 43% global average.