EU to submit countermeasures on US goods to avert looming tariffs
The Commission said on Wednesday (Jul 23) its primary focus was to achieve a negotiated outcome with the US to avert 30 per cent US tariffs that US President Donald Trump has said he will impose on the 27-nation bloc on Aug 1.
European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will speak with Lutnick on Wednesday afternoon, the Commission said, before Commission officials brief EU ambassadors on the state of play.
The Commission said it would in parallel press on with potential countermeasures. It said it would merge its two sets of possible tariffs of 21 billion euros and 72 billion euros into a single list.
It added it would submit this to EU members for approval. No countermeasures would enter force until Aug 7. So far, the EU has not imposed any countermeasures, agreeing to, but then immediately suspending, the first set in April.
The Commission may be buoyed by the initial deal struck between the US and Japan.
European shares climbed more than 1 per cent on Wednesday, led by automobile stocks, after Trump revived hopes for a trade deal with the EU following the US agreement with Japan, which includes a 15 per cent baseline rate.
EU diplomats were reluctant to provide early comments, instead saying they were picking through details of the US-Japan deal, such as that Japan would buy more rice from the US, but would keep existing tariffs on agricultural products.
Simon Evenett, professor of geopolitics and strategy at IMD Business School, said the 15 per cent rate was lower than what Trump had recently threatened Japan with and it was notable that it appeared to apply to Japanese cars.
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