[Source/Observer Network by Ruan Jiaqi]
Local time on April 9, just a few hours after the so-called "reciprocal tariff" took effect, U.S. President Trump reversed his decision and announced that most countries would be granted a 90-day deferral for taxation, during which a 10% benchmark tariff would remain in place. The EU subsequently announced that it would also defer its 25% counter-measure tariff against US steel and aluminum tariffs for 90 days.
On the 11th local time, according to the Financial Times of the UK, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that within this 90-day "buffer period," the EU seeks to reach a "fully balanced" agreement with the US. However, she also indicated that if negotiations with Trump fail to end his trade war against Europe, the EU is prepared to deploy its strongest trade measures and expand its countermeasures to include US service industries.
Trump and Von der Leyen met at the 2020 Winter Davos Forum. NBC
Von der Leyen told British media that the EU's further proposed countermeasures against Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs may target the massive surplus the US has in service trade with the EU. If US-EU negotiations fail, the EU may impose additional tariffs on American digital technology companies, which could include taxing digital advertising revenue.
The British media pointed out that this measure will be implemented across the entire EU single market, unlike the digital sales taxes levied separately by member states. This will impact major American tech giants such as Meta, Google, and Facebook.
"In this market, companies in the service industry are doing well. And the vast majority of these services—80%—come from the US. So we emphasize again that we hope to reach a solution that is most beneficial for everyone through negotiation," said Von der Leyen.
"We are formulating retaliatory measures," she further stated, indicating that these measures might include the first启用 of the EU's "Anti-Coercion Instrument" (ACI) to strike back at US service exports.
The EU views ACI as its "most powerful economic weapon." This tool can not only be used to impose tariffs on imported goods but also restrict third-country companies from participating in public procurement projects or imposing limitations on service trade and investments. Due to its broad scope and significant impact, ACI is referred to as the "trade bazooka" in Brussels.
Von der Leyen emphasized that specific measures will depend on the outcome of negotiations with Washington. "If the negotiation results are unsatisfactory, we still have a series of extensive countermeasures," she added.
Regarding this absurd global trade war initiated by the US, Von der Leyen believed that Trump's actions "completely overturned the direction of global trade, bringing it to a turning point."
"There is no doubt that this is a major turning point in our trade relations with the US," she continued. "We can never go back to the past."
Talking about the turbulent situation in stock and bond markets, she continued: "In this trade war, there are no winners, only losers. Today, we see the cost of chaos... The cost of the uncertainty we face now will be heavy."
Von der Leyen also revealed that the EU Commission had previously tried to negotiate with the US but was told to wait until Trump announced the "reciprocal tariffs" on April 2. In this tariff list, the US imposed a 20% tariff on the EU. To seek negotiation space, she publicly proposed implementing zero tariffs on industrial products as a concession, but received little response in Washington.
US officials often complained about non-tariff trade barriers in the EU, such as value-added tax and product standards. Von der Leyen responded that she was willing to discuss coordinating EU and US standards, although she believed the results might be limited.
"I think examining where we can coordinate regulations and standards to facilitate business activities is definitely worth trying. So I am open to this," she added. "But we should not expect too much because different standards usually exist due to differences in lifestyles and cultures."
The Trump administration insisted that relevant EU regulations on digital content and market power were essentially equivalent to taxing large American tech companies. But Von der Leyen ruled out the possibility of reviewing these regulations that the EU considers "untouchable."
At the same time, the EU will not engage in negotiations over value-added tax issues. She said that value-added tax is equivalent to the US sales tax, "These are not within the scope of negotiation because they are our sovereign decisions."
According to British media reports, if US-EU negotiations fail, the EU will automatically restart its counter-measures against US steel and aluminum tariffs.
In addition to possibly taking action on service trade, Von der Leyen revealed that given the large demand for scrap metal from US steel mills, Brussels is also considering measures such as taxing scrap metal exports to the US.
Talking about the chain reaction potentially triggered by the global trade war, Von der Leyen said that regardless of the outcome of negotiations with the US, Trump's policies fundamentally reshaped global trade relations, prompting the EU to engage in more negotiations with countries like Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates.
"Many countries around the world are interested in working more closely with us to balance the trade system and make free trade truly compete on quality rather than tariffs," she said.
This trade war also sparked discussions about "how to modernize, reform, and stabilize the World Trade Organization (WTO)." Von der Leyen said, "The focus must be on modernization and reform, not just maintaining the status quo because there are already too many problems. My point is, one should never waste a good crisis (to seize opportunities for change)."
This article is an exclusive contribution by Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7491863813403181583/
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