[Text/Observer Network Liu Chenghui] As the Sino-US tariff negotiation achieved a breakthrough, the EU's attitude towards US negotiations became "stronger", attempting to further increase its demands.

The Wall Street Journal of the United States noticed on May 15 that several EU officials released information on the same day, stating that the EU-US tariff negotiations were making progress, and the EU was seeking to reach a trade agreement with a larger reduction in tariffs than the US-UK and China-US agreements. Some EU officials pointed out that the conditions offered by the US to the UK and China were not satisfactory for Europe. The main lesson learned from the above negotiations was that they should not act hastily.

At present, many EU countries have clearly rejected accepting the 10% benchmark tariff clause similar to the US-UK agreement. Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Trade Benjamin Dusa made a tough statement, saying that if the EU could only obtain conditions equivalent to those of the US-UK agreement, the US could expect EU retaliation.

On May 12, Trump answered reporters' questions at the White House, pressuring the EU to make "major concessions." Visual China

After US President Trump took office this year, he imposed a 25% tariff on European auto, steel, and aluminum manufacturers. On April 2, Trump announced the "reciprocal tariff" measure, imposing significant tariff increases on all European imports, but then reduced the increase to a 10% benchmark tariff one week later and granted a 90-day negotiation period.

However, no breakthrough has been reached in the US-EU negotiations so far. To break the deadlock, the EU made concessions to the US last week and played the "China card," promising to work with the US to address China's so-called overcapacity.

Last week, the US and the UK announced an agreement to maintain the 10% benchmark tariff on UK exports to the US unchanged. Subsequently, positive results were achieved in the Sino-US economic and trade talks this week, with both sides agreeing to reduce tariffs within 90 days, lowering the rate by 115%.

Following this, Trump immediately turned his fire on the EU, criticizing the EU for being "very unfair" to the US and pressuring the EU to make "major concessions."

In the view of some European officials, neither the US-UK nor the US-China agreements met the conditions sufficiently.

"I don't think Europe will be satisfied with such terms." Michal Baranowski, Deputy Minister of Poland's Ministry of Economy who is hosting the EU trade conference in Brussels, said that it was good news that the US decided to ease tensions. It was the 37th day of the 90-day negotiation period. "We still have time to secure a comprehensive agreement."

He revealed that the EU-US negotiations were making progress.

"We see some optimistic signs because there are elements of easing from the US side, which is a positive signal for accelerating negotiations with the EU."

In Baranowski's view, the EU should not be anxious about reaching an agreement with the US. He stated that the main lesson learned from the US-UK and US-China agreements was that "we should not act hastily: we do not need quick agreements; we need good agreements."

He added: "The US also has time."

Regarding the US-UK trade agreement, Matthias Jorgensen, head of US trade relations at the European Commission, told the European Parliament, "This is not a complete agreement; it is more like a political consensus to initiate negotiations." The text of the agreement seemed to "imply some political concessions by the UK on beef and car issues."

"We are not interested in such agreements; we want meaningful discussions with the US government to establish a real trade partnership, not just empty words." An EU diplomat summarized the ministers' attitudes, saying, "Of course, this requires more time and seriousness."

Benjamin Dusa, Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation and Trade, directly issued a warning: "If the EU can only obtain conditions equivalent to those of the US-UK agreement, the US can expect us to take countermeasures."

In Dusa's view, no agreement will be reached between the US and the EU in the coming weeks.

Benjamin Dusa, Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation and Trade

Laurent Saint-Martin, France's Minister of Trade, supported the EU setting red lines, saying that maintaining a 10% benchmark tariff was "not a good thing" and was "unacceptable."

However, Levente Mazar, Hungary's deputy foreign minister, made a rare statement in support of retaining the benchmark tariff, calling it "a fair solution."

The US has initiated a pharmaceutical trade investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the president to impose taxes for national security reasons.

Several large US pharmaceutical companies have factories in Ireland, exporting products back to the homeland. Simon Harris, Ireland's deputy prime minister, dismissed the idea that Ireland or the EU posed a threat to US security as absurd.

Politico News reported that the EU was among the first economies to negotiate with the US, but so far there has been no breakthrough. With the US reaching agreements with the UK and China, the EU fears it is at the bottom of Trump's priorities.

Before this trade meeting, Maros Schefcovic, a commissioner of the European Commission responsible for trade and economic security matters, told reporters that he had conducted a "constructive conversation" with US Commerce Secretary Luetnik on the 14th.

He revealed that the US and the EU hoped to cooperate in solving the issue of "overcapacity" in the steel industry, reducing dependence on critical minerals, and further cooperating in sensitive technology fields such as artificial intelligence and chip production.

"Our goal is to address current challenges while laying the foundation for deeper cooperation," Schefcovic said. "We firmly believe that as allies, we can achieve better results when jointly addressing these areas."

The EU has repeatedly stated that it remains committed to negotiating a trade agreement satisfactory to both parties through dialogue with the US, but it is also "preparing for various possibilities," including taking countermeasures.

The European Commission launched a public consultation on a list of goods to counteract US tariffs on August 8. At the same time, the EU will file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US' "reciprocal tariff" and its policies on whole cars and car parts.

The EU pointed out that if the negotiations with the US fail to produce mutually beneficial results and lead to the cancellation of US tariffs, the EU may take countermeasures against these US imports.

"We are filing a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization to challenge what we consider unreasonable and clearly violate global trade rules US tariffs," Schefcovic said.

The Hong Kong-based English-language media South China Morning Post mentioned recently that Trump's tariff offensive has shaken the confidence of US allies in traditional alliance relationships. Recently, Sweden expressed its intention to promote the EU's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to offset the impact of US tariff policies. This move has raised concerns domestically in the US. Local time on May 14, US lawmakers urgently held hearings to seek countermeasures.

"When the US is becoming increasingly self-contained, Europe faces a good opportunity to open up to investment and trade," Dusa said. "This is crucial for Sweden. If we want to afford healthcare, schools, and social services in Sweden... our exporters must have access to more markets."

This article is an exclusive contribution by the Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7504845019010826792/

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