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India Today
3 hours ago
- Business
- India Today
EU moves closer to US trade agreement with 15% tariff plan
After months of tense back-and-forth tariff threats, the European Union and the United States finally appear to be moving toward common ground. At the centre of this potential agreement is a 15% tariff that would apply to most imported goods — a move both sides hope will calm rising trade pressures and avoid a costly tariff battle.A breakthrough could be near, with both sides working on a deal that would implement a 15% tariff on most traded goods — a move aimed at cooling down the tariff to diplomats, EU member countries may agree to a 15% import duty on a wide range of goods, including vehicles. However, for products like steel and aluminium that go beyond a certain import quota, the tariff could go up to 50%, one diplomat said. Even though EU officials are optimistic, they know that the final decision depends on US President Donald Trump, as per news agency Reuters. A US official also said the talks are still ongoing and there may not be an immediate OF TRADE WAR STILL LOOMThe two sides have been working hard to make progress and avoid a major trade battle. But tensions rose again two weeks ago when Trump warned he might impose a 30% tariff on most EU goods if a deal isn't made by August has already placed a 25% duty on car imports and doubled that for steel and aluminium. He's also hinted that more products, including medicines, semiconductors, and copper, could be targeted there's no agreement by the deadline and Trump increases tariffs to 30%, the EU is preparing its own PLANS COUNTER TARIFFS If the US goes ahead with harsher tariffs, the EU is ready to hit back in a tit-for-tat move. It's preparing tariffs on over 90 billion (around $106 billion) worth of American goods - including well-known Boeing aircraft, cars, and bourbon EU is also considering using a special tool called the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI). This would allow the bloc to take a wide range of actions, such as:Imposing new taxes on US tech companies,Placing limits on US investments in Europe,Restricting American companies' access to European the warnings, EU and US leaders still hope to reach an agreement. European officials say their main goal is to avoid escalation and find common ground before the August deadline."We are hearing at this very moment that decisions may be forthcoming," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Speaking before a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, he added, "We are meeting at a time that could not have been better."- EndsWith inputs from Reuters
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
EU and US closing on 15% tariff deal to break impasse
The European Union and the US are progressing toward an agreement that would set a 15% tariff for most products, according to diplomats briefed on the negotiations. Member states could be ready to accept a 15% tariff and EU officials are pushing to have that cover sectors including cars, the diplomats said. Steel and aluminium imports above a certain quota would face the 50% duty, one of the diplomats added. The diplomats said that while the EU is optimistic that a deal can be reached, they are also cautious that any final agreement will need sign off from US president Donald Trump and his ultimate decision is difficult to predict. The EU has prepared plans to hit the US with 30% tariffs on some €100bn worth of goods in the event of no deal and if Mr Trump carries through with his threat to impose that rate on most of the bloc's exports after August 1. As a part of a first wave of countermeasures, the EU would combine an already approved list of tariffs on €21bn of US goods and a previously proposed list on an additional €72bn of US items into one package, a European Commission spokesman said yesterday. The US exports, which include industrial goods such as Boeing aircraft, US-made cars, and bourbon whiskey, would face a levy that matches Mr Trump's 30% threat, sources said. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent dismissed talk of €100bn tariffs by the EU as a 'negotiating tactic', adding: 'It's what I would do if I were in their place'. Mr Trump announced two tariff deals on Tuesday — one with the Philippines and another with Japan, and both featured across-the-board duties on their imports that were lower than initially threatened. Also noteworthy was the 15% US levy on Japanese autos that was lower than the current 25% rate on major car exporters including the EU. Mr Bessent said the EU has not yet brought anything as innovative as the Japanese offer. 'Talks are going better than they had been,' he said. 'I think that we are making good progress with the EU, but as I've said before, the EU has a collective action problem with 27 countries.' The EU's most potent trade tool is the ACI, and a growing number of member states is pushing for its use if a deal isn't reached. The instrument is primarily designed as a deterrent and is currently not on the table, with its activation requiring a qualified majority of member states to support the move. The ACI would enable the EU to launch a broad range of retaliatory actions, including new taxes on US tech giants, targeted curbs on investments, and limiting access to the EU market. The commission is discussing the instrument with members, the sources said. While some capitals having been pushing to use the tool, most want to wait to see how the situation develops beyond August 1 before progressing discussions further to try to achieve the required majority, they added. The overwhelming preferencewas to keep negotiations with Washington on track. European leaders are in Tokyo and Beijing this week for talks with some of the bloc's biggest trading partners in Asia. European automakers' stocks rallied after the US-Japan trade deal sparked hopes that American import tariffs on their vehicles could be cut. Bloomberg
Euractiv
7 hours ago
- Automotive
- Euractiv
Germany: ‘Time has come' for EU to threaten US with trade bazooka
Germany has urged the European Commission to threaten to use its much-vaunted 'trade bazooka' on the US, marking a sharp escalation of the EU-US trade war and a stunning reversal of Berlin's previous call for a 'quick and simple' deal with Washington. The comments come just days before Donald Trump's threatened 30% tariff on EU goods is set to enter into force on 1 August, which would triple the current baseline 10% levy faced by European exporters and upend the €1.6 trillion transatlantic trade relationship. 'As we are now in the final phase of negotiations, the right time has come from the perspective of the German government for the Commission to consider the use of this anti-coercion instrument (ACI),' a senior German government official said on Wednesday. 'I believe, seven days before the end of the negotiations, one should also show what one can do,' the official added. The ACI – the EU's most powerful trade weapon – would legally empower the Commission, which oversees EU trade policy, to impose a wide range of retaliatory measures on the US, including investment restrictions, the withdrawal of intellectual property protections, and tariffs on goods as well as services. The bloc has already pledged to retaliate on €93 billion worth of US goods, which Brussels said on Wednesday would enter into force on 7 August if no negotiated deal is reached. The Commission has also said it is preparing retaliatory measures targeting US services, but has not yet presented any list to member states for consideration. The EU ran a €50 billion net trade surplus with the US last year, with a €198 billion surplus in goods and a €148 billion deficit in services, according to EU data. In addition to the current 10% baseline, Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on steel and aluminium and a 25% duty on cars and car parts since returning to the White House in January. The auto tariff has severely exacerbated the woes of Germany's flagship auto sector, which is already reeling from weak demand and increasingly fierce Chinese competition. In remarks that were widely interpreted as suggesting that Berlin could accept the 10% baseline in exchange for auto tariff exemptions, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said earlier in July that Brussels should seek to clinch a 'quick and simple' rather than 'lengthy and complicated' deal with Washington. The German official's remarks also follow multiple reports suggesting that Germany has become increasingly sympathetic to France's repeated calls for Brussels to take a tougher line on Washington if no deal is agreed. The Financial Times reported earlier on Wednesday that Berlin had 'joined forces' with Paris in calling for the activation of the ACI, whose use is still opposed by a majority of the bloc's 27 member states. Triggering the instrument requires the support of a 'qualified majority' of EU countries, or 15 countries representing at least 65% of the bloc's population. The German official, however, downplayed any differences between Germany and France's negotiating positions. 'There was never a disagreement about the harshness of the response among the main partners of the EU, including between Germany and France,' the official said. 'It was always a question of timing.' (mm)
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Business Standard
7 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
European Union readies €100 bn no-deal plan to match US 30% tariff
The European Union plans to quickly hit the US with 30 per cent tariffs on some €100 billion ($117 billion) worth of goods in the event of no deal and if US President Donald Trump carries through with his threat to impose that rate on most of the bloc's exports after Aug. 1. As a part of a first wave of countermeasures, the EU would combine an already approved list of tariffs on €21 billion of US goods and a previously proposed list on an additional €72 billion of American products into one package, a European Commission spokesman said on Wednesday. The US exports, which include industrial goods such as Boeing Co. aircraft, US-made cars and bourbon whiskey, would face a levy that matches Trump's 30 per cent threat, according to people familiar with the matter. The threatened retaliation from Brussels would hit about one-third of American exports to the EU, based on the €335 billion worth of US goods shipped to the bloc last year. The tariffs would be prepared to come into force next month but only if there is no deal and the US implements its levies after the August deadline, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The euro extended a fall after the report, down 0.3 per cent at $1.1723, leading losses among major currencies. German bonds trimmed an earlier decline. The plans come as EU member states, including Germany, have hardened their positions in response to the US stiffening its negotiating stance. Berlin would be willing to even support the activation of the EU's anti-coercion instrument, or ACI, in a no-deal scenario, a government official said on condition of anonymity. This tool would come into play only if a deal fails to materialise. Trump announced two tariff deals on Tuesday — one with the Philippines and another with Japan, and both featured across-the-board duties on their imports that were lower than initially threatened. Also noteworthy was the 15 per cent US levy on Japanese autos that was lower than the current 25 per cent rate on major car exporters including the EU. European leaders are in Tokyo and Beijing this week for talks with some of the the bloc's biggest trading partners in Asia. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking with Bloomberg Television on Wednesday, said the EU hasn't yet brought anything as innovative as the Japanese offer. 'Talks are going better than they had been,' he said in the interview. 'I think that we are making good progress with the EU, but as I've said before, the EU has a collective action problem with 27 countries.' The EU's most potent trade tool is the ACI, and a growing number of member states is pushing for its use if a deal isn't reached. The instrument is primarily designed as a deterrent and is currently not on the table, with its activation requiring a qualified majority of member states to support the move. The ACI would enable the EU to launch a broad range of retaliatory actions, including new taxes on US tech giants, targeted curbs on US investments, and limiting access to the EU market. 'We are now approaching the decisive phase in the tariff dispute with the USA — we need a fair, reliable agreement with low tariffs,' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday after a meeting with his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala. 'Without such an agreement, we risk economic uncertainty at a time when we actually need exactly the opposite.' The Commission, the EU's executive arm, is discussing the instrument with member states, the people said. While some capitals having been pushing to use the tool, most want to wait to see how the situation develops beyond Aug. 1 before progressing discussions further to try to achieve the required majority, they added. The overwhelming preference is to keep negotiations with Washington on track in a bid for an outcome to the impasse ahead of next month's deadline. EU and US negotiators are scheduled to continue talks on Wednesday. The US is now seen to want a near-universal tariff on EU goods higher than 10 per cent, with increasingly fewer exemptions limited to aviation, some medical devices and generic medicines, several spirits, and a specific set of manufacturing equipment that the US needs, Bloomberg previously reported. The two sides have also discussed a potential ceiling for some sectors, as well as quotas for steel and aluminum and a way to ring-fence supply chains from sources that oversupply the metals. Any agreement would need Trump's sign off – and his position isn't clear. The US president wrote to the EU earlier in the month, warning of a 30 per cent tariff on most of its exports from Aug. 1. Alongside a universal levy, Trump has hit cars and auto parts with a 25 per cent customs tax, and steel and aluminum with double that. He's also threatened to target pharmaceuticals and semiconductors with new duties as early as next month, and recently announced a 50 per cent duty on copper. Hoped-for extension Before Trump's letter, the EU had been hopeful it was edging toward an initial framework that would allow detailed discussions to continue on the basis of a universal rate of 10 per cent on many of the bloc's exports. While most capitals and officials accept that any agreement would be asymmetrical in favor of the US and see the EU facing higher than 10 per cent rates, the bloc has been seeking wider exemptions than the US is offering, as well as looking to shield the bloc from future sectoral tariffs. The EU's €100 billion list would cover its response to Trump's universal duties as well as his tariffs on metals and cars. The level of pain that member states are prepared to accept varies, and some are open to landing on a higher 15 per cent levy if enough exemptions are secured and the scope of the duty was clear, the people said. In addition to the tariffs on goods, the bloc's executive arm is also working on measures that could see export controls as well as restrictions on some services and public procurement contracts introduced in future, they said.
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
EU readies nearly $150 billion no deal plan to match US 30% tariff
Find out what's new on ST website and app. EU member states have hardened their positions in response to the US stiffening its negotiating stance. BRUSSELS – The European Union plans to quickly hit the US with 30 per cent tariffs on some €100 billion (S$149.78 billion) worth of goods in the event of no deal and if US President Donald Trump carries through with his threat to impose that rate on most of the bloc's exports after Aug 1. As a part of a first wave of countermeasures, the EU would combine an already approved list of tariffs on €21 billion of US goods and a previously proposed list on an additional €72 billion of American products into one package, an European Commission spokesman said on July 23. The US exports, which include industrial goods such as Boeing Co aircraft, US-made cars and bourbon whiskey, would face a levy that matches Mr Trump's 30 per cent threat, according to people familiar with the matter. The tariffs would be prepared to come into force in August but only if there is no deal and the US implements its levies after the August deadline, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The euro extended a fall after the report, down 0.3 per cent at US$1.1723, leading losses among major currencies. German bonds trimmed an earlier decline. The plans come as EU member states, including Germany, have hardened their positions in response to the US stiffening its negotiating stance. Berlin would be willing to even support the activation of the EU's anti-coercion instrument, or ACI, in a no-deal scenario, a government official said on condition of anonymity. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore's domestic recycling rate drops to all-time low of 11% Singapore Male victim of fatal Toa Payoh fire was known to keep many things, say residents Singapore HDB launches 10,209 BTO and balance flats, as priority scheme for singles kicks in Singapore 5 teens arrested for threatening boy with knife, 2 charged with causing hurt Singapore Money, housing and isolation the biggest struggles for youth leaving children's homes: Study Singapore Sota parent portal taken down for urgent patching following global cyberattack alerts Singapore COE prices for cars mostly unchanged; premium for commercial vehicles up 2.9% Singapore Cyclist charged after allegedly hitting elderly pedestrian, killing him This tool would come into play only if a deal fails to materialise. Mr Trump announced two tariff deals on July 22 – one with the Philippines and another with Japan, and both featured across-the-board duties on their imports that were lower than initially threatened. Also noteworthy was the 15 per cent US levy on Japanese autos that was lower than the current 25 per cent rate on major car exporters including the EU. European leaders are in Tokyo on July 23 and Beijing on July 24 for talks with some of the bloc's biggest trading partners in Asia. The ACI is the 27-nation EU's most potent trade tool and a growing number of member states is pushing for its use if a deal isn't reached. The instrument is primarily designed as a deterrent and is currently not on the table, with its activation requiring a qualified majority of member states to support the move. The ACI would enable the EU to launch a broad range of retaliatory actions, including new taxes on US tech giants, targeted curbs on US investments, and limiting access to the EU market. 'We are now approaching the decisive phase in the tariff dispute with the USA. We need a fair, reliable agreement with low tariffs,' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters in Berlin on July 22 after a meeting with his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala. 'Without such an agreement, we risk economic uncertainty at a time when we actually need exactly the opposite.' The Commission, the EU's executive arm, is discussing the instrument with member states, the people said. While some capitals having been pushing to use the tool, most want to wait to see how the situation develops beyond Aug 1 before progressing discussions further to try to achieve the required majority, they added. The overwhelming preference is to keep negotiations with Washington on track in a bid for an outcome to the impasse ahead of August's deadline. EU and US negotiators are scheduled to continue talks on July 23. BLOOMBERG
