Latest news with #European Commission
Telegraph
16 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
First EU-wide taxes to pay for Covid debt
The European Commission is attempting to introduce its first bloc-wide taxes on tobacco, e-cigarettes and large companies to repay a mountain of coronavirus debt. Electronic waste and carbon emissions could also be targeted in the drive to raise much-needed cash and pay off a €650 billion pandemic loan. The European Union's executive arm will present the proposal to member states on Wednesday as part of the unveiling of plans for the bloc's next budget between 2028 and 2034. Brussels raised €650 billion in joint debt to provide much-needed economic boosts to its pandemic-stricken economy. But when the deal was signed off by member states in 2021, there was no agreement over how the money should be repaid The EU is currently looking to set aside between €25 billion and €30 billion annually – equivalent to a fifth of its budget – to pay off the loan. Using Brussels-mandated taxes – known as 'own resources' – would be the first time the Commission has supplemented its budget with levies it controls. Eurocrats argue that the radical shift is needed to pay back the existing debt, but also to raise further cash to fund a continent-wide rearmament. The taxation on tobacco products could raise €15 billion annually for the Commission, De Telegraaf, the Dutch newspaper, has reported. Member states will be charged the tax based on the number of smokers in their country, meaning the likes of Greece, Germany and Bulgaria could be among the hardest hit by the levy. It would in effect enforce an increase on the minimum excise rates on cigarettes and cigars, hitting those capitals that enforce lower rates, like Luxembourg. Dozens of member states have been lobbying the Commission to include vapes, nicotine patches and heated tobacco in the scheme because of health concerns and cash already lost to illicit trade, estimated to be about €10 billion a year. A separate tax could be introduced on companies with a net turnover of €50 million a year that have a permanent base in the EU. The move could generate billions of euros to help pay off the Covid-era debt, but is seen as deeply unpopular and uncompetitive in member states. Other revenue streams looking to be opened up include targeting a charge for non-recycled electronic waste and a handling fee for long-distance e-commerce packages. The Commission is expected to unveil a proposal to increase that to €1.78 trillion, or 1.26 per cent of gross national income. The hikes will likely be resisted by countries that pay the most towards the budget, including France, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. When the plan is presented to member states on Wednesday, it will fire the starting pistol on a two-year scrap between national capitals and EU institutions in Brussels over the bloc's future finances.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
EU delays retaliatory tariffs against US amid hopes for trade deal
The European Union has delayed retaliatory tariffs on exports from the United States as officials scramble to reach a trade deal with Washington ahead of US President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Sunday that the bloc would extend its suspension of countermeasures as it continued negotiations with the Trump administration. 'At the same time, we will continue to prepare for the countermeasures, so we're fully prepared,' von der Leyen said during a news conference in Brussels. 'We have always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution,' she added. 'This remains the case, and we will use the time that we have now until the 1st of August.' The EU's announcement comes after Trump on Saturday unveiled plans to slap a 30 percent tariff on European and Mexican exports from August 1. The EU in March announced retaliatory tariffs on 26 billion euros ($30bn) of US exports in response to Trump's duties on steel and aluminium. The bloc paused the measures for 90 days the following month after Trump announced he would delay the implementation of his so-called 'reciprocal tariffs'. The EU's pause had been due to expire at midnight on Monday. EU trade ministers are scheduled to convene in Brussels on Monday to discuss options for responding to Trump's latest tariff threats. On Sunday, White House Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett said that Trump was not happy with the 'sketches of deals' presented by US trade partners and that their offers 'need to be better'. 'These tariffs are real if the president doesn't get a deal that he thinks is good enough, but, you know, conversations are ongoing, and we'll see where the dust settles,' Hassett told ABC News's This Week. Taken together, EU member countries are the US's largest trading partner. US-EU trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
The EU is delaying retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, in hopes of reaching a deal by Aug. 1
BRUSSELS — The EU will 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. ″This is now the time for negotiations,″ European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday, after President Donald Trump sent a letter announcing new tariffs of 30% on goods from the EU and Mexico starting Aug. 1.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US to raise tariff rate on EU goods to 30% from 1 August, EU open to talks but ready to respond
US President Donald Trump intends to raise tariffs on European products to 30% starting 1 August, he wrote in a letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on his social media platform Truth Social. He added that this rate could increase further if the European Union decided to retaliate, stating that the number is "far less than what is needed to eliminate the Trade Deficit disparity." The European Commission responded with a written statement, saying "we remain ready to continue working towards an agreement by August 1," adding that "at the same time, we will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required." "Goods transshipped to evade a higher Tariff" will also face a higher rate, he added. He also said in the letter that the US trade deficit was a national security threat. 'We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers,' Trump wrote. 'Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.' He said that approvals to "build or manufacture" products within the US would occur "within a matter of weeks," adding that European companies who decided to do so would not face no tariffs. The announcement follows months of negotiations between the EU and US, and as the pause on Trump's so-called 20% "reciprocal tariffs" nears its end on 1 August. Trump is in the midst of an announcement blitz of new tariffs with allies and foes alike, a bedrock of his 2024 campaign that he said would set the foundation for reviving a US economy that he claims has been ripped off by other nations for decades. His administration has started to send out letters to trading partners, notifying them of the duties that will be applied to their US exports. With Saturday's letters, Trump has now issued tariff conditions on 24 countries and the 27-member European Union.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Trump imposes 30 per cent tariffs on EU and Mexico
Donald Trump has said he will impose 30 per cent tariffs on the European Union and Mexico from next month. The US president said both levies would take effect on August 1 as he announced the move on letters posted to his Truth Social account. In his letter to the European Union, Mr Trump said that the US trade deficit was a national security threat. 'We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers,' he wrote. 'Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal,' he added. The EU tariff is markedly steeper than the 20 percent levy Mr Trump unveiled in April, as negotiations with the bloc continue. EU countermeasures Responding to the announcement, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said: 'Imposing 30 per cent tariffs on EU exports would disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic. 'Few economies in the world match the European Union's level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices. 'The EU has consistently prioritised a negotiated solution with the US, reflecting our commitment to dialogue, stability, and a constructive transatlantic partnership. 'We remain ready to continue working towards an agreement by August 1. At the same time, we will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.' Brussels, alongside dozens of other economies, had been set to see its US tariff level increase from a baseline of 10 per cent on Wednesday, but Mr Trump pushed back the deadline to August 1 just days before the elevated rates were due to take effect. Mexico targeted over drugs and migration In the letter to Claudia Sheinbaum, the Mexican president, Mr Trump acknowledged that her country has been helpful in stemming the flow of undocumented migrants and fentanyl into the United States. But he said the country has not done enough to stop North America from turning into a 'Narco-Trafficking Playground'. The duties are higher than the 25 percent levy Mr Trump imposed on Mexican goods earlier this year, although products entering the United States under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement are exempted. Canada earlier received a similar letter setting out 35 percent tariffs on its goods. The EU tariff is markedly steeper than the 20 percent levy Mr Trump unveiled in April, as negotiations with the bloc continue. The EU, alongside dozens of other economies, had been set to see its US tariff level increase from a baseline of 10 percent on Wednesday, but Mr Trump pushed back the deadline to August 1 just days before the elevated rates were due to take effect.
