EU vows 'robust' countermeasures if Trump enacts 'unacceptable' 30% tariffs
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The ministers met Monday in Brussels following Trump's surprise announcement over the weekend of such hefty tariffs, which could have repercussions for governments, companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. The EU is America's biggest business partner and the world's largest trading bloc.
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Maroš Šefčovič, the EU's trade representative in its talks with the U.S., said after the meeting that it was 'very obvious from the discussions today, the 30% is absolutely unacceptable.'
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He said that the commission was sharing proposals with the 27 member countries 'for the second list of goods accounting of some 72 billion euros ($84 billion) worth of U.S imports. They will now have a chance to discuss it. This does not exhaust our toolbox and every instrument remains on the table.'
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Lars Løkke Rasmussen, foreign minister of Denmark, which recently assumed the presidency of the EU, said the ministers vowed to work together in negotiating a trade deal with Washington or agreeing on countermeasures.
'The EU remains ready to react and that includes robust and proportionate countermeasures if required and there was a strong, feeling in the room of unity,' Rasmussen told reporters after the meeting.
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The tariffs, also announced for Canada and Mexico, are set to start on Aug. 1 and could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the U.S., and destabilize economies from Portugal to Norway.
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Meanwhile, Brussels decided to suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods scheduled to take effect Monday in hopes of reaching a trade deal with the Trump administration by the end of the month.
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The 'countermeasures' by the EU, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of its 27 member countries, will be delayed until Aug. 1. Trump's letter shows 'that we have until the first of August' to negotiate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday.
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Maroš Šefčovič, the EU's trade representative in its talks with the U.S., said negotiations would continue Monday.
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'I'm absolutely 100% sure that a negotiated solution is much better than the tension which we might have after the 1st of August,' he told reporters in Brussels on Monday. But he added that 'we must be prepared for all outcomes.'
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'I cannot imagine walking away without genuine effort. Having said that, the current uncertainty caused by unjustified tariffs cannot persist indefinitely and therefore we must prepare for all outcomes, including, if necessary, well-considered proportionate countermeasures to restore the balance in our transit static relationship.'
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