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The EU will delay its plan to hit the US with tariffs on €21bn of its annual exports to Europe on Tuesday within the hope of coming to an settlement after Donald Trump introduced that he would hit the bloc with 30 per cent tariffs from August 1.
European Fee president Ursula von der Leyen stated on Sunday that the applying of tariffs to €21bn of annual US exports to the EU, together with hen, bikes and garments, that had been as a consequence of come into impact after midnight on July 14 could be suspended till “early August”.
“We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution with the US. This remains the case,” she stated.
Donald Trump introduced on Saturday that he would hit the EU and Mexico, two of the US’s closest buying and selling companions, with 30 per cent tariffs from August 1.
European leaders have been break up on whether or not the bloc ought to press for a fast framework commerce deal just like the UK’s or preserve negotiating within the hope of reaching a greater end result.
Senior EU officers informed the FT that they didn’t count on Trump to in the end undergo together with his new risk of 30 per cent tariffs, which is being extensively interpreted by Brussels as a bid by the US President to extend strain on the bloc within the remaining time left for negotiations.
One EU official pointed to the chance of a really adverse US investor response to such steep measures on a key buying and selling accomplice.
“We trust in the markets,” the official stated.
German finance minister Lars Klingbeil referred to as for the EU to proceed “serious” talks. “Nobody needs new threats or provocations right now. What we need is for the EU to continue serious and targeted negotiations with the US,” he informed Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Nevertheless Klingbeil warned that “if a fair negotiated solution cannot be reached, then we must take decisive countermeasures to protect jobs and companies in Europe.”
In addition to the preliminary checklist of counter-tariffs, the European Fee, which runs commerce coverage, is consulting on a package deal of tariffs on an extra €95bn of imports from the US, together with plane, alcohol and meals, which would wish member states’ approval. This has already been lowered to €72bn, in line with two diplomats, after governments lobbied to take away some delicate merchandise from the goal checklist.
The US is making use of tariffs on round €380bn of annual imports from the EU.
Von der Leyen stated that the fee would “continue to prepare” the second checklist of countermeasures however she stated that the bloc wouldn’t invoke its anti-coercion instrument, which might enable it to take measures in opposition to US service exports, for instance by blocking firms from public procurement contracts.
The instrument “is created for extraordinary situations — we are not there yet,” the fee president stated, including that “the time is for negotiations”.
Her feedback got here as she introduced a “political agreement” on a free commerce cope with Indonesia after 9 years of talks.
The deal, anticipated to be finalised in September, will have to be ratified by a weighted majority of member states and by the European parliament. Officers are assured it’s going to move as Indonesia doesn’t export delicate agricultural merchandise reminiscent of beef.
Bilateral commerce in items between the EU and Indonesia was €27.3bn in 2024, with EU exports value €9.7bn and EU imports value €17.5bn.
“I am very happy that in this era of instability and confusion we are setting a right example,” Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto stated.
Von der Leyen stated that diversifying its commerce agreements was a central a part of the EU’s technique to counter Trump’s commerce conflict.
Some enterprise teams and politicians, nevertheless, have criticised Von der Leyen’s method.
Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, chief of the far-right League occasion who had enthusiastically rooted for Trump’s re-election, lashed out at Brussels for mishandling the negotiations.
“Trump has no reason to attack our country but once again we are paying the price for a German-led Europe,” stated the League in a press release.
Coldiretti, the influential Italian agribusiness affiliation, has additionally criticised Brussels’s dealing with of the negotiations, warning that Trump’s threatened 30 per cent tariff price could be a “deathblow” to Italy’s meals exports, and trigger an estimated €2.3bn in direct damages to Italian producers.
“If the tariffs were to be confirmed on August 1, we cannot help but note the complete failure of von der Leyen’s policy,” stated Ettore Prandini, Coldiretti president.
Extra reporting by Amy Kazmin in Rome, Henry Foy in Brussels and Anne-Sylvaine Chassany in Berlin
