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Fashion United
19 minutes ago
- Fashion United
EU prepares retaliatory tariffs on US goods amid trade dispute
The European Union has agreed on a multi-billion pound list of potential retaliatory tariffs of up to 30 percent in the trade dispute with the US. If negotiations fail, countermeasures could quickly be imposed on US exports to the EU worth more than 90 billion euros. The Deutsche Presse-Agentur learned this from EU sources. The retaliatory tariffs are to come into force on August 7, should there be no negotiated solution by then. The countermeasures reportedly comprise an already agreed list of levies on US imports worth 21 billion euros. Other imports worth around 72 billion euros are also affected. A commission spokesperson stressed on Wednesday that the EU's main focus remained on reaching an agreement with Washington. The EU and the US are currently trying to prevent further escalation in the tariff conflict between the two trading powers. About two weeks ago, US President Donald Trump announced that he would introduce new high tariffs from August 1 and warned the EU against countermeasures. Trump had held out the prospect of lowering threatened tariffs on the import of European products on Wednesday night – if the European Union opened its market more to the US. Speaking at an AI event, the Republican said of the ongoing negotiations: "If they agree to open the union to American companies, then we will levy a lower tariff." He said they were in serious negotiations. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Hopes UK pharma industry will escape US tariffs but gloom over steel exports as Starmer braces for talks with Trump
Hopes have been fuelled that the UK pharma industry can escape US tariffs as Keir Starmer prepares for talks with Donald Trump. The PM is expected to meet the President in Scotland next week, where Mr Trump is touring his golf courses. The White House has said the leaders will try to 'refine the historic US-UK trade deal' struck in May. The prospects of getting the full exemption for steel exports that was originally hailed by Sir Keir appear to be fading, amid American concerns about creating a 'back door' for products from China. However, there are signs of optimism that Mr Trump will offer guarantees the powerhouse British pharma sector will not be hit with threatened levies - which he has suggested could take effect as soon as August. In a round of interviews this morning, Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government is 'still in negotiation with the US' over details of the agreement In a round of interviews this morning, Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government is 'still in negotiation with the US' over details of the agreement. 'We obviously have a preferential deal on steel compared to the rest of the world with the tariff being 25 per cent rather than 50 per cent, but that's one of the outstanding issues which we are hoping to advance,' he told Times Radio. 'Alongside that, we still need to do the wider deal on reciprocal tariffs. That's the 10 per cent as opposed to the sectoral tariffs we've removed on aerospace, on automotive and some other key parts of our exports to the US. 'But that's a conversation that's still ongoing.' Mr Reynolds said the global trade system was under 'unprecedented pressure', adding that was 'mainly because of the US agenda. 'Our goal, my goal, is to make sure the UK navigates that better than any other country in the world. I think we're doing that, but of course, there's always more work to do,' he said. 'But doing that in a way which makes people have stronger confidence in the UK... 'This is about getting what we need for sectors of the British economy, but also providing that confidence, that stable platform to the rest of the world, which benefits everyone in the UK.' Sir Keir boasted about the steel industry being spared all levies when he unveiled a Transatlantic trade pact in May. However, steel was not covered in the implementation text released last month - with the UK subject to a 25 per cent rate. Mr Trump had warned that could rise to the 50 per cent being imposed on the rest of the world from July 9 unless terms were finalised. That deadline has been extended with worldwide trading partners given until August 1 to do deals. The UK has yet to obtain any guarantee that the crucial pharma industry will not be hit with tariffs, and there are claims Sir Keir has conceded the NHS will pay billions of pounds more for drugs. Mr Trump has complained that medicine prices are inflated in the US to offset cheaper rates in other countries. Asked last month whether Britain would be shielded from future tariffs, Mr Trump said the UK was protected 'because I like them'.
Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
Oil prices gain 1% on US trade optimism, drop in crude inventories
LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose more than 1% on Thursday, buoyed by optimism over U.S. trade negotiations that would ease pressure on the global economy and a sharper-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories. Brent crude futures gained 79 cents, or 1.15%, to $69.30 a barrel by 0934 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 83 cents, or 1.3% to $66.08 per barrel. "The U.S. crude inventory draw and the trade efforts are adding some support to prices," said Janiv Shah, analyst at Rystad. Two European diplomats said on Wednesday that the EU and the U.S. are moving towards a trade deal that could include a 15% U.S. baseline tariff on EU imports and possible exemptions, potentially paving the way for another major trade agreement following the Japan deal. On the supply side, U.S. Energy Information Administration data on Wednesday showed U.S. crude inventories fell last week by 3.2 million barrels to 419 million barrels, exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw. Meanwhile, news of issues in loading CPC exports from Kazakhstan through the Black Sea due to Russian administrative interference, along with reports of contamination around loadings for Azeri crude from Ceyhan in Turkey led to some strength, PVM Associates analyst John Evans said in a note. But follow-through will depend on their longevity, he added. Kazakhstan's energy ministry, however, said that the country had not halted oil loadings via the Russian sea ports, the Interfax news agency reported earlier on Thursday. "Uncertainty over U.S.-China trade talks and peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia is limiting further gains," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment, a unit of Nissan Securities, predicting WTI would likely remain range-bound between $60 and $70 a barrel. Russia and Ukraine held peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, discussing further prisoner swaps, though the two sides remain far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders. "Next to watch would be the demand indicators as we are in the peak season and any upside or downside would impact refining margins," Shah added.
