Trump threatens to impose a 30% comprehensive tariff on all 27 EU countries, and the EU is preparing countermeasures while also striving for a successful negotiation with the US
Brussels - US President Trump announced on Saturday that if an agreement is not reached before August 1st, he will impose comprehensive tariffs on all 27 EU countries. On Sunday, European Commission President von der Leyen said that in order to facilitate an agreement with the US to avoid the 30% US tariff, Brussels will continue to maintain a pause in its countermeasures against US steel and aluminum tariffs, which were originally scheduled to expire from Monday night to Tuesday night.
US President Trump announced on Saturday that if an agreement is not reached before August 1st, he will impose comprehensive tariffs on all 27 EU countries.
Von der Leyen told reporters: "We will continue to prepare for countermeasures."
Von der Leyen emphasized that the EU has always clearly stated that we prefer to resolve issues through negotiations. We will make good use of the time between now and August 1st.
Brussels is ready to impose tariffs on goods worth about 21 billion euros (24 billion dollars) from the US to respond to Trump's earlier tariffs on metal imports.
The EU trade ministers held a meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss how the EU should respond to Trump's latest move and what firm stance to take towards Washington.
French President Macron said on Saturday that if an agreement is not reached before August 1st, the EU must "intensify the development of credible response measures." In his statement on Saturday, Macron also urged the European Commission, which represents all EU countries in negotiations, to "firmly defend European interests."
Since returning to the presidency in January this year, Trump has imposed intermittent tariffs on allies and competitors, disrupting financial markets and raising concerns about a global economic recession.
But now, Trump faces pressure as whether or not he can sign agreements with trade partners is affecting his administration.
So far, US officials have only announced two agreements, one with the UK and another with Vietnam, as well as a temporary reduction in retaliatory tariffs against China.
Originally, the EU and dozens of other economies had planned to increase their tariffs on the US from a base level of 10% on July 9th, but Trump postponed the deadline to August 1st.
In a letter released on Saturday, Trump announced new 30% tariffs, citing the trade imbalance between the US and the EU.
The tariff rate on the EU is significantly higher than the 20% tariff announced by Trump in April. Earlier, due to market collapse, the tariffs on EU countries were suspended.
Source: rfi
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837613181735936/
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