US-EU trade war ‘in nobody's interest', says Downing Street
Mr Trump threatened to increase tariffs on EU products last Friday, saying talks with the bloc were 'going nowhere' and suggesting the new rate could come into effect on June 1.
But on Sunday night he said he would delay the tariffs until July 9 to allow for 'serious negotiations'.
In Number 10's first comments since Mr Trump made his threat, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said on Tuesday: 'We've always been clear that a trade war's in nobody's interest.
'And the EU and the US are two of our largest trading partners, which is why we're so focused on improving and strengthening our trading relationships with both the EU and the US.'
The EU is currently subject to US tariffs of 10%, in line with most other nations after Mr Trump climbed down from the sweeping levies he announced on April 2 that had include a 20% charge for the bloc.
Earlier this month, the EU said it would impose its own tariffs on a range of American products, including aircraft, vehicles and alcohol, and begin legal action at the World Trade Organisation if it could not negotiate a solution with Washington.
Although the UK has managed to negotiate some concessions to the tariffs imposed directly on the country, a wider trade war between the US and EU could still harm the British economy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
42 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Sen. Joni Ernst gives GOP its slogan: We're all going to die
But Republicans couldn't quite seem to give voice to their suffering-first agenda. Sen. Joni Ernst reminds constituents they're all going to die anyway Ernst herself, during a May 30 town hall, was asked about the fact that the giant Republican tax-cuts-for-rich-people bill now in the hands of U.S. senators will, according to the Congressional Budget Office, slash $723 billion from Medicaid over the next 10 years and leave nearly 8 million Americans uninsured. And she stumbled around a bit, saying: "We know the House has their provisions for Medicaid, and I actually agree with most of their provisions. Everyone says that Medicaid is being cut, people are going to see their benefits cut. That's not true." Opinion: There's one thing stopping Trump: laws. Clearly we need to get rid of them. At one point, someone during the town hall accurately shouted, "People are going to die! GOP should embrace its new goth slogan: 'We are all going to die' And THAT was the moment it all seemed to come together for Ernst and, by association, the Republican Party as a whole. That was when the senator summoned the courage to flatly say: "Well, we all are going to die." It might sound a bit goth, but she ain't wrong. And it seems, in the face of brutal cuts to virtually everything in the U.S. government that helps people who aren't rich, like as good an excuse as any. Opinion: As hurricane season starts, Trump is making sure you won't get FEMA help "We are all going to die" is punchy. It's deflating, in a way that will surely tickle Republicans' spirits as they try to get Americans to sit back and tolerate the cruel and draconian cuts Republican lawmakers and self-appointed government-spending slicer Elon Musk have championed. GOP bill includes 'policies that would harm the health of children' It's a swift and simple response to people like Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who said in a statement that the GOP tax-cut bill that was recently passed in the U.S. House "includes sweeping policies that would harm the health of children and families." Kressly said: "Cuts to lifeline programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would be devastating to the children and families who rely on them for access to health care and the food they need." Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Thanks to Ernst, any Republican confronted by worry-wart pediatricians who "care" about the "health" of "children" could respond with a snappy: "Hey, doc. We're all going to die. What are ya gonna do?" USAID cuts have likely led to tens of thousands of deaths New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg reported May 30 on the Trump administration's gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development, writing, "The administration says that it has terminated more than 80 percent of U.S.A.I.D. grants. Brooke Nichols, an associate professor of global health at Boston University, has estimated that these cuts have already resulted in about 300,000 deaths, most of them of children, and will most likely lead to significantly more by the end of the year." The GOP's response to such unconscionable news, thanks to Ernst's ingenuity, can now be a casual, "Whelp, we're all going to die." I encourage everyone, and particularly conservatives, to embrace the Republican Party's forthright, optimistic-if-you're-into-nihilism new slogan for America: "WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE." Dark? Yes. Increasingly accurate thanks to the Trump administration? Definitely. Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @ and on Facebook at
The Herald Scotland
42 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump wants Congress to increase tax cuts in major policy bill
Musk, who is stepping back from his White House role, has said he's disappointed that the bill will increase the budget deficit. Increasing the tax cuts would add to the deficit unless they're offset with spending cuts. The House passed legislation last week that would add an estimated $3.8 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, fueled by a permanent extension of the 2017 income tax cuts that Trump signed into law during his first term. That bill also includes temporary tax breaks for tips, overtime, seniors and buyers of American-made cars. There is also a boosted child tax credit, among other benefits. Next up is the U.S. Senate, which will begin its work on the legislation next week with several Republicans already openly pushing for changes to the House bill's approach to everything from Medicaid to green energy subsidies, and overall leaders in Congress, namely House Speaker Mike Johnson, have set a self-imposed deadline on July 4 to complete work on the bill and send it to Trump's desk for signature into law.
The Herald Scotland
43 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Supreme Court lets Trump revoke migrants' temporary status
Jackson wrote that the court "plainly botched" its assessment of whether the government or the migrants would suffer the greater harm if the migrants' legal status ends while the case is being litigated. Jackson said the majority undervalued "the devastating consequences of allowing the Government to precipitously upend the lives and livelihoods of nearly half a million noncitizens while their legal claims are pending." The administration wants to cut short a program that provided a two-year haven for immigrants because of economic, security, political and health crises in their home countries. Lawyers for the migrants said half a million people lawfully in the country will become subject to deportation, what it called the "largest mass illegalization event in modern American history." Labor unions and communities that have welcomed the migrants said they've filled gaps in key industries, including healthcare, construction and manufacturing. Nearly 20% of the workers at one automotive parts manufacturer are in the temporary program, according to labor unions. The Trump administration said it's determined the migrants' presence in the United States is "against the national interests" and the courts don't get to decide otherwise. The move is part of the President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration and push to ramp up deportations, including of noncitizens previously granted a legal right to live and work in the United States. The Biden administration hoped the program would deter migrants from those countries from trying to enter the country illegally. But the Trump administration cancelled people's work permits and deportation protections, arguing the program failed as a deterrent and makes it harder to enforce immigration laws for those already in the country. Immigrant rights groups challenged the change on behalf of the immigrants and their sponsors. A federal judge in Massachusetts said the abrupt curtailing of the program was based on a legal error, as the administration wrongly concluded that letting the temporary status naturally expire would foreclose the Homeland Security Department's ability to legally expedite their deportations. District Judge Indira Talwani, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, also said early cancellation of protections requires a case-by-case review for each participant. A three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed Talwani's decision to temporarily block mass cancellation. All three judges were appointed by Democratic presidents. The Justice Department argued the lower courts are "undoing democratically approved policies that featured heavily in the November election." Lawyers for a group of cities and counties said the abrupt cancellation of the program "would case severe economic and societal harms."
