May 9 reported by Reference News website, according to a report from Agence France-Presse on May 7, the EU Trade Commissioner said on the 7th that after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed high tariffs, the EU is accelerating free trade negotiations with Asia.

Since March this year, Trump has levied a series of higher tariffs on Europe, and his biggest move was to impose a 20% tariff on a large number of EU products last month, then suspend the levy within 90 days that will expire in July.

EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told reporters in Singapore that negotiations with Washington are a priority, but this negotiation will not be "at any cost".

"I would like to emphasize that in today's geopolitical context, we must ensure that the EU does not put all its eggs in one basket," he said.

"Bilaterally, we are accelerating negotiations with Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia," he said.

These countries are major members of ASEAN, which consists of 10 member states, with a population of more than 650 million in the region.

"We are also strengthening our engagement with India. We just had another round of talks last week," Sefcovic said.

On the 7th, he made these remarks in Singapore after signing a digital trade agreement between the EU and Singapore.

"Our goal here is also very clear: to continue signing agreements and remain a reliable, trustworthy, and predictable partner in the rapidly changing global landscape," the trade commissioner said.

The commissioner also said that the EU is considering "strengthening cooperation" with CPTPP member countries.

Sefcovic cited data from Eurostat, saying that the EU's trade surplus with the United States for goods is 154 billion euros, but there is a deficit of 104 billion euros for services.

This results in a trade surplus of 50 billion euros for the EU, which can be rebalanced by purchasing more liquefied natural gas, soybeans, and high-end computer chips from the United States, Sefcovic said.

Trump has previously stated that the U.S. annual trade deficit exceeds tens of billions of dollars.

Currently, the U.S. imposes a "benchmark" tariff of 10% on goods from the EU's 27 countries and other countries around the world.

Negotiators are currently seeking to avoid a full-scale trade war breaking out after the additional tariffs take effect in July.

The trade commissioner said that when U.S. and Chinese officials held tariff talks in Switzerland over the weekend, the EU will also seek "signs of easing tensions." (Translated by Xu Yanhong)

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