Latest news with #EuropeanCommission
LeMonde
an hour ago
- Business
- LeMonde
'Europe must coordinate its response to Trump's tariff threats'
The issue of tariffs between the US and Europe has taken a dangerous turn. The European Commission had made concessions and was ready to sign an imbalanced agreement similar to the one concluded between the United Kingdom and the US. Europeans had demonstrated a spirit of conciliation, telling themselves that a "bad peace" is always preferable to war. Undeterred, Donald Trump decided to press his advantage and test how far Europe would be willing to yield. He then brandished the threat of 30% tariffs as of August 1 − tariffs 10% higher than those announced on the now-famous blackboard displayed like a trophy at the beginning of April. What a strange way to reward the European Commission for having so far postponed any retaliatory measures. This strategy has proven to be a complete failure. Pretending nothing is happening will only lead to disaster. Would it be acceptable to the businesses and citizens of the European Union (EU) for the Commission to obtain a less favorable deal, despite Europe weighing nearly six times as much as the United Kingdom? Has the Commission failed to see that Trump only respects the strong – Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu and Xi Jinping – and holds the weak in contempt? As long as Trump does not sense real resistance, he will not sign any agreement; in his world, each party must wield threats. The current response is laughably weak, impacting only $23 billion – just 3% of US exports of goods and services to Europe. That strategy must urgently change; it is not simply a matter of flexing muscles or turning into a hawk after playing the dove. Rather, a bold, new strategic move must be made. To do so, Europeans should not proceed alone, but must coordinate with others in the name of multilateralism. By imposing higher tariffs on all countries in February, Trump made a gamble. He succeeded because the other countries, caught off guard by the force of the attack, failed to coordinate their response.
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
EU says ‘better' to strike tariff deal fast with US
The European Commission expects the US to keep 10% baseline tariffs on EU goods, with exemptions for critical sectors. (EPA Images pic) BRUSSELS : The EU believes it is 'better' to clinch a deal fast with the US, the bloc's economy chief said today, after president Donald Trump announced a new delay. EU officials have been in painstaking negotiations with their US counterparts to stop steep levies kicking back in which could wreak havoc on Europe's economy. 'The faster we can reach the agreement, the better, because that would remove uncertainty surrounding these tariff questions and indeed we see that it is weighing on the economy and also on investment decisions of the companies,' EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in Brussels. Although Trump on Monday signed an order formally extending a July 9 deadline to August 1, Brussels wants a deal this week. 'We have been working with this ninth of July deadline in mind, but as I outlined, as it seems, the US have now postponed in a sense this deadline to first of August, so that gives us a bit more time, but from our side we remain concentrated,' Dombrovskis added. The European Commission, conducting trade negotiations on behalf of the 27-country bloc, expects Trump to keep a 10% baseline tariff on EU goods with exemptions for critical sectors like airplanes, spirits and cosmetics, EU diplomats told AFP. The commission has been pushing for steel tariff exemptions after Trump slapped a 25% levy but the US has refused to budge on the issue. The agreement would also include a commitment to relocate part of Europe's car production, especially German, to benefit from tariff exemptions, an EU diplomat said. If the talks yield no deal, the default US tariff on imports from the EU is expected to double to 20% or even more – Trump having at one point threatened 50%.
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
EU chief delays retaliation for US tariffs in search of deal
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels would delay retaliation on US metal tariffs while seeking to avoid broader 30% levies. (AP pic) BRUSSELS : EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday that Brussels would continue to hold off on hitting back at US steel and aluminium tariffs, as it seeks a deal to avoid broader 30% levies. US President Donald Trump on Saturday threw months of painstaking negotiations into disarray by announcing he would hammer the 27-nation bloc with the sweeping tariffs if no agreement is reached by Aug 1. 'The United States has sent us a letter with measures that would come into effect unless there is a negotiated solution, so we will therefore also extend the suspension of our countermeasures until early August,' von der Leyen told journalists. 'At the same time, we will continue to prepare for the countermeasures so we're fully prepared,' she added. The European Commission president insisted that the European Union has 'always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution. This remains the case, and we will use the time that we have now till Aug 1'. The move by von der Leyen will spur hope that Trump's latest threat – in which he also targeted Mexico – has not killed off the progress made in negotiations so far between Brussels and Washington. The European Union's current suspension of its retaliation over US steel and aluminium tariffs had been set to expire overnight Monday to Tuesday. 'Ready to respond' Brussels has readied duties on US goods worth around €21 billion (US$24 billion) in response to the levies Trump slapped on metal imports earlier this year. But it announced in April it was holding off on those measures to give space to find a broader trade agreement with the Trump administration. 'Since the very beginning, we have worked and now are ready to respond with countermeasures. We've prepared for this, and we can respond with countermeasures if necessary,' von der Leyen said. EU trade ministers meet in Brussels Monday to discuss the bloc's response to Trump's latest move – and how strong a line to take with Washington. On Sunday Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the ARD broadcaster that if the threatened tariffs came into effect they would 'overtake a lot of the efforts we have been making' towards reviving the economy and would 'hit our exporters to the core'. He said he agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said on Saturday the EU had to 'step up the preparation of credible countermeasures' in the event of no deal before Aug 1. In his statement Saturday, Macron also urged the European Commission – which negotiates on behalf of all EU countries – to 'resolutely defend European interests'. Meloni's warning Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement Sunday: 'A trade war within the West would weaken us all in the face of the global challenges we are confronting together. 'Europe has the economic and financial strength to assert its position and reach a fair and sensible agreement,' she added. Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has unleashed sweeping stop-start tariffs on allies and competitors alike, roiling financial markets and raising fears of a global economic downturn. But his administration is coming under pressure to secure deals with trading partners after promising a flurry of agreements. So far, US officials have only unveiled two pacts, with Britain and Vietnam, alongside temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties with China. The European Union, alongside dozens of other economies, had been set to see its US tariff level increase from a baseline of 10% on July 9, but Trump pushed back the deadline to Aug 1. In a letter published on Saturday, Trump cited the United States's trade imbalance with the bloc as justification for the new 30% levies. The EU tariff is markedly steeper than the 20% levy Trump had unveiled in April – before hitting pause as markets went into meltdown.
RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
European Commission to propose merging CAP funding with other funds
The European Commission is set to propose merging Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funding with other funds, in a radical overhaul of how farmers receive financial supports from the European Union budget. Draft documents of the proposals, seen by RTÉ News, indicate that from the start of the next EU budgetary cycle in 2028, the commission plans to pool dedicated agricultural and rural financial supports into a single National and Regional Partnerships fund. The proposal would mean CAP would no longer be a stand-alone fund within the EU budget but would instead be merged with EU cohesion, migration, and infrastructure funding. This could result in certain funding for agriculture within the EU budget no longer being ringfenced and see financial supports funnelled away from farming and into other areas. In the draft, the commission argues the change would allow for "stronger synergies between policies", and create a more flexible, crisis-responsive budget that better reflects the EU's shared priorities. The commission will outline its proposals to MEPs later today for the next EU budget - known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) - which comes into effect in 2028. Irish farmers receive around €2 billion annually in CAP payments to help support the rural economy and food production. This funding is divided into two pillars - the first comprising direct payments to farmers, with the second focusing on rural development. However, the draft commission document proposes to guarantee "coherence by integrating the CAP interventions from the current two-funds structure under one single umbrella". The proposal suggests member states would have more power to reallocate funding "based on their specific needs rather than uniform allocations". Some Irish MEPs who have seen the leaked commission proposals say they risk CAP funding to farmers being considerably reduced, with some estimates suggesting they could see a drop of up to 30%. Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh, who is a member of the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, said they "highlight a real risk of the already insufficient CAP budget being further decreased. "While the relevance of some pillar-two tools - from farm advisory services to LEADER programmes - is maintained in the proposal, the funding is uncertain. "Without guaranteed investment, our rural communities and farmers will suffer. For example, the ringfenced funding for LEADER programmes has been abolished - I will be fighting within the Agriculture Committee to reverse this decision," she added. The commission's plans also recommend CAP funding "should be focused on active farmers", meaning supports would be "targeted towards farmers who exercise agriculture as a principal activity". In addition, the proposals would increase supports for younger farmers significantly, with funding for the costs of establishing a new farm potentially rising from €100,000 to €300,000. Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly said he is "alarmed and concerned" by the reported proposals "to scrap a fund with millions of euros of Pillar 2 rural development grants. "These grants provide a lifeline to many parts of the midlands, west, north west and north east," he said. He added that "the Commissioner is proceeding against the advice of all farmers and community groups with a single fund to be merged with cohesion funds paid to member states. "The scale of cuts in the budget being proposed are absolutely disastrous for Irish farmers." 'Big battle ahead' - IFA The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has described the draft proposals as "very concerning". IFA President Francie Gorman said: "it is clear that the EU Commission is downgrading the importance of the CAP and food production to allow for greater spending elsewhere. "The CAP is being turned into an environmental and social policy. Support for farmers who are producing the most food is being consistently reduced. "At a time when Ireland is a net contributor to the overall EU budget, this level of investment in every parish takes on even more significance," he said. "CAP has been the cornerstone of the multi-billion export sector that underpins thousands of jobs in regions far from the urban centres. "There is a big battle ahead to retrieve a coherent policy from what the EU Commission is proposing," he added. 'Beginning of a protracted process' Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said that the commission's budget proposals are "just the beginning of a protracted process". The minster said: "Member States will, through the Council of Ministers, begin the process of agreeing a general approach to the commission's proposals, before engaging in line-by-line negotiations with the EU Parliament and the EU Commission. "This will take some time, and I fully expect the progression of these proposals to be a significant feature of Ireland's Presidency of the EU Council in the second half of next year. "My priority throughout will be to ensure that the legislation finally agreed reflects Ireland's concerns, and provides certainty and stability for farmers," the minister added. Once the commission sets out its proposed EU budget, this will start a process of debate and negotiation that will ultimately lead to a final vote on the next budget for the bloc, that would begin in 2028. Ireland is expected to play an important role in this process, especially regarding CAP funding, given that we will hold the rolling six-month EU presidency for the second half of 2026.
Euractiv
4 hours ago
- Business
- Euractiv
Commission toys with massive €522 billion competitiveness budget
The European Commission is considering a huge new fund to boost Europe's economy worth up to €522 billion between 2028 and 2034, according to a document seen by Euractiv. On Wednesday the Commission is expected to present its proposal for the next seven-year budget cycle. The €522 billion would be split between a research programme, currently at €96 billion, and various smaller programmes not likely surpassing €50 billion. That leaves room for a possible European Competitiveness Fund of over €300 billion, unheard of in the EU. The document – which may change in last-minute negotiations overnight – suggests that the total size of the budget will be €1.717 trillion, or 1.23% of gross national income, the total income earned by a country's population and businesses. That is €369 billion more than a comparable number for the previous budget, but around €200 billion would likely go to paying back the EU's pandemic recovery fund loans. The Commission typically proposes a higher figure, which is then whittled down by spendthrift EU countries in years of painstaking negotiations. During the last cycle of negotiations that began in 2018, the Commission proposed 1.11% GNI and the final agreement landed at 1.05% of GNI in comparable terms. According to the leaked document, the budget proposal would pull all the EU's expenditure into just four pots. Most of the traditional spending would be subsumed into a fund called "Europe's social model and quality of life," worth €947 billion over seven years. The Global Europe fund, which controversially may also include development aid, would be worth €190 billion, and a budget for administration would be €107 billion. Nikolaus J. Kurmayer contributed reporting.
