Latest news with #EUUSrelations
Bloomberg
10 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Europe Lines Up Behind Powerful Trade Tool in US Fight
If Donald Trump follows through on his latest deadline when it comes to tariffs, a growing number of European Union member states want the bloc to activate its most powerful trade tool against the US. Trump has repeatedly delayed his threatened levies, a pattern of behavior that's generated the now-famous TACO meme. Now he has pledged to impose 30% tariffs on the EU if no deal is reached by Aug. 1. And this time, his aides have said, he means it. It would seem Europe is taking him at his word. A French-led charge to deploy the bloc's so-called anti-coercion instrument is said to be backed by more than half a dozen European capitals. Benjamin Haddad, France's minister for European affairs, said earlier this week that the response from Brussels should include the option of using the tool, which gives officials broad powers to take retaliatory action. Those measures could include new taxes on US tech giants or targeted curbs on US investments in the EU.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
France Builds Support for Using Most-Potent EU Trade Tool on US
A growing number of European Union member states want the bloc to activate its most powerful trade tool against the US should the two sides fail to reach an acceptable agreement by Aug. 1 and Donald Trump carries out his threat of 30% tariffs on the US's largest trading partner. A French-led charge to deploy the EU's so-called anti-coercion instrument is backed by more than half a dozen European capitals, according to people familiar with the matter. Several member states are more cautious, while others have yet to express a position, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Italian PM Meloni warns against ‘trade war within the West'
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy will do its part as the EU holds off on responding in hopes of reaching a deal with the US. (EPA Images pic) ROME : Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned Sunday against the perception of a 'trade war within the West', following US President Donald Trump's announcements of 30% tariffs on EU products. 'A trade war within the West would weaken us all in the face of the global challenges we are confronting together,' Meloni said in a statement released by her office. 'Europe has the economic and financial strength to assert its position and reach a fair and sensible agreement,' she said. 'Italy will do its part. As always,' she added, as the EU holds off on a response in the hopes of reaching an agreement. Trump announced Saturday that products imported into the US from the European Union and Mexico would be subject to 30% tariffs starting Aug 1. Since then, Italian opposition parties have criticised Meloni and her far-right party Brothers of Italy, while opposition Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte accusing her of 'bowing her head' to Washington's threats. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Brussels would not retaliate against US tariffs on steel and aluminium for now, hoping to secure a deal to avoid broader 30% levy on all its exported products.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
EU warns that its trade with the US could be effectively wiped out if Trump follows through on his threat
The European Union has warned that its trade with the United States could be effectively wiped out if Washington makes good on its threat to slap a 30% tariff on goods imported from the bloc. A tariff of '30%, or anything above 30%… has more or less the same effect. So, practically it prohibits the trade,' Maroš Šefčovič, the EU's trade commissioner, said as he arrived ahead of an EU ministerial meeting in Brussels on Monday. Šefčovič said it will 'be almost impossible' for the bloc to continue its current level of trade with America if that new tariff rate is implemented on August 1 – the date stipulated by US President Donald Trump in his letter to the EU on Saturday. 'If (the tariff) stays 30 (percent) plus, simply trading as we know it will not continue, with huge negative effects on both sides of the Atlantic,' he added. 'I will definitely do everything I can to prevent this super-negative scenario.' In a press conference following the meeting, Šefčovič said reiterated that the EU's preferred outcome is a negotiated deal with Washington and that he plans to speak to his US counterparts late Monday. The EU-US trade relationship is mighty. According to the European Council, EU-US bilateral trade in goods and services was worth €1.68 trillion ($1.96 trillion) last year. Together, the partners represent nearly 30% of global goods and services trade, per the Council. Trump on Monday said his administration is open to negotiating trade with the EU, striking a softer tone on tariffs just days after he announced a 30% duty on the bloc. 'They would like to do a different kind of a deal, and we're always open to talk,' Trump said during an event at the White House with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO. 'We are open to talk, including to Europe.' 'In fact, they're coming over. They'd like to talk,' Trump said without elaborating. But Trump has previously repeatedly rebuked the EU for what he sees as unfair trading practices, saying in April that the 27-nation bloc was 'formed to screw' America. He has pointed to EU tariffs on US goods as well as several 'non-tariff barriers' such as taxes on digital services to support that view. Since re-taking office in January, Trump has hiked – and threatened to hike – tariffs on countries around the world to help eliminate the US' trade deficit, bring manufacturing jobs back to America and bring foreign nations to heel on key disputes. Trump early Monday said on social media that that America has given countries a 'free ride' for many years. 'The United States of America has been ripped off on TRADE (and MILITARY!), by friend and foe, alike, for DECADES,' he wrote on his Truth Social platform. 'It has come at a cost of TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS, and it is just not sustainable any longer - And never was!' For months, EU trade officials have been negotiating with their US counterparts to avoid Trump's tariffs, or to limit their damage. But after the US president threatened in May to jack up the rate of his so-called 'reciprocal' levy on EU goods from 20% to 50%, the bloc accelerated talks. Šefčovič reiterated on Monday his belief that a deal had been within touching distance before Trump's latest tariff salvo. 'The feeling on our side was that we are very close to an agreement,' he said, noting that the bloc is demonstrating 'enormous' levels of patience and creativity to secure a deal. In the press conference, Šefčovič said the EU would not have spent three months 'drafting (a trade) agreement in principle and going through 1,700 tariff lines,' discussing details ranging from agriculture to car parts, if it thought those efforts could be thwarted by a single letter. US National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Monday that trade talks with the EU, as well as Canada and Mexico, were 'underway still.' 'I think that the president has set a deadline so that everybody gets the clarity that you all crave by the beginning of August,' Hassett told reporters at the White House. On Sunday, the EU said it will delay the implementation of planned countermeasures on €21 billion ($25 billion) worth of US exports from Monday until early August to allow more time to negotiate an agreement. Those countermeasures are in retaliation for the 25% tariff Washington has slapped on all steel and aluminium imports. Šefčovič said during Monday's press conference that the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, has shared a proposal with member states for a new round of countermeasures, targeting €72 billion ($84 billion) worth of US goods imports. Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark's foreign minister, said the bloc wants a fair deal and that it should prepare to retaliate. 'If you want peace, you have to prepare for war, and I think that's where we are. So, of course, we shouldn't impose countermeasures (at) this stage, but we should prepare to be ready to use all the tool in the toolbox,' Rasmussen said before the meeting of EU trade ministers on Monday. European stocks mostly fell Monday in the first day of trade since Trump issued his new tariff threat over the weekend. The Stoxx Europe 600, the region's benchmark index, closed 0.06% lower but pared earlier steeper losses. CNN's John Towfighi and David Goldman contributed reporting.
CNN
3 days ago
- Business
- CNN
A 30% tariff on Europe would effectively knock out transatlantic trade, says EU trade chief
The European Union has warned that its trade with the United States could be effectively wiped out if Washington makes good on its threat to slap a 30% tariff on goods imported from the bloc. A tariff of '30%, or anything above 30%… has more or less the same effect. So, practically it prohibits the trade,' Maroš Šefčovič, the EU's trade commissioner, said as he arrived ahead of an EU ministerial meeting in Brussels on Monday. Šefčovič said it will 'be almost impossible' for the bloc to continue its current level of trade with America if that new tariff rate is implemented on August 1 – the date stipulated by US President Donald Trump in his letter to the EU on Saturday. 'If (the tariff) stays 30 (percent) plus, simply trading as we know it will not continue, with huge negative effects on both sides of the Atlantic,' he added. 'I will definitely do everything I can to prevent this super-negative scenario.' The EU-US trade relationship is mighty. According to the European Council, EU-US bilateral trade in goods and services was worth €1.68 trillion ($1.96 trillion) last year. Together, the partners represent nearly 30% of global goods and services trade, per the Council. But Trump has repeatedly rebuked the EU for what he sees as unfair trading practices, saying in April that the 27-nation bloc was 'formed to screw' America. He has pointed to EU tariffs on US goods as well as several 'non-tariff barriers' such as taxes on digital services to support that view. Since re-taking office in January, Trump has hiked – and threatened to hike – tariffs on countries around the world to help eliminate the US' trade deficit, bring manufacturing jobs back to America and bring foreign nations to heel on key disputes. For months, EU trade officials have been negotiating with their US counterparts to avoid Trump's tariffs, or to limit their damage. But after the US president threatened in May to jack up the rate of his so-called 'reciprocal' levy on EU goods from 20% to 50%, the bloc accelerated talks. Šefčovič reiterated on Monday that the EU seeks a negotiated solution as well as his belief that one had been within touching distance before Trump's latest tariff salvo. 'The feeling on our side was that we are very close to an agreement,' he said, noting that the bloc is demonstrating 'enormous' levels of patience and creativity to secure a deal. On Sunday, the EU said it will delay the implementation of planned countermeasures on €21 billion ($25 billion) worth of US exports from Monday until early August to allow more time to negotiate an agreement. Those countermeasures are in retaliation for the 25% tariff Washington has slapped on all steel and aluminium imports. Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark's foreign minister, said the bloc wants a fair deal and that it should prepare to retaliate. 'If you want peace, you have to prepare for war, and I think that's where we are. So, of course, we shouldn't impose countermeasures (at) this stage, but we should prepare to be ready to use all the tool in the toolbox,' Rasmussen said before the meeting of EU trade ministers on Monday. European stocks were falling Monday morning in the first day of trade since Trump issued his new tariff threat over the weekend. The Stoxx Europe 600, the region's benchmark index, was trading 0.27% lower by early afternoon CET. David Goldman contributed reporting.
