Negotiation on EU-US trade deal continues, with tariffs pushed back for another week

Irish Independent

5 days ago

This gives European Commission negotiators more time to clarify details of the new trade deal, as they try to extend the range of goods to which the 15pc rate will not apply. On Thursday, the commission said it had not been able to achieve a zero-for-zero carve-out for the drinks sector.
France is already pressing for parts of the deal to be renegotiated. 'It's a stage and we won't stop here,' French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot told broadcaster France Info. 'We want new concessions, guarantees on wine and spirits, a readjustment, [and] a rebalancing on the service sector – in particular digital services.'
Speaking after a meeting of the trade forum in Government Buildings, Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris said it was Ireland's understanding that the EU's 15pc rate was fully inclusive – incorporating existing tariffs – unlike the UK's 10pc.
Confirming that pharmaceuticals will remain at a zero per cent tariff until the White House completes a Section 232 investigation – which determines how specific imports will affect US national security – Mr Harris said he had been informed by Brussels that this was likely to conclude in about two weeks.
'Without a deal between the US and the EU, today would have seen 30pc tariffs introduced by President Trump on the EU, and significant counter-measures by the EU to the tune of around €90-odd billion,' he said.
'There's absolutely no doubt that would have been a moment of catastrophe in terms of our economic well-being as a country. We'd be in a very different and a much worse position, I think, if we were standing here today with no deal.
'You don't have to take my word for that if you just see the executive order last night and all of the tariffs levelled in other countries, including countries that didn't have deals.'
On Thursday night, Mr Trump signed an executive order to introduce tariffs on more than 60 countries. Most of these will take effect on August 7, but a 35pc levy on some exports from Canada came into effect immediately.
The highest rates were slapped on Syria, Laos and Myanmar, which now face tariffs of about 40pc.
A rate of 35pc was applied in Switzerland. The country has a big trade deficit with the US, reaching $38bn (€33bn) last year, but the White House implied that Switzerland was also being penalised for its pharma industry.
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US trade representative Jamieson Greer told BloombergTelevision: 'They ship enormous amounts of pharmaceuticals to our country. We want to be making pharmaceuticals in our country.'
As usual, the extended deadline gives these countries more time to negotiate a deal with the US before the tariffs are applied. If introduced, however, it will mean the US is applying an average rate six times higher than when former president Joe Biden was in office.
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said: 'The average US tariff jumps from 13.3pc to 15.2pc, a seismic shift from the 2.3pc average before Trump retook office.'
In a briefing to its members after the trade forum, Ibec pointed out that clarity was still needed on precisely what goods would drop to a zero tariff after August 7.
'Goods that may benefit from zero tariffs or zero-for-zero tariffs ... (including aircraft and component parts, certain chemicals, certain generic medicines, semiconductor equipment, selected agricultural products, natural resources, and critical raw materials) will require the final EU-US joint statement to confirm which specific HS codes will be exempt,' Ibec's Danny McCoy said.
'Negotiations on additional zero-for-zero arrangements not covered by the joint statement may continue in the weeks ahead.'