The European Union (EU) postpones countermeasures to US tariffs and raises the stakes for a second retaliatory list covering up to 72 billion euros of US goods, but will not leave the negotiating table until August 1 and after that date, European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic announced on Monday after a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council to discuss the response to the Donald Trump Administration.
"The EU will not walk away without genuine effort", assured the European Trade chief, noting that he will return to contact with his North American partners this Monday, hoping for an understanding that Brussels still considers possible."My impression is that it is something worth working for, otherwise we would not have spent three months discussing an agreement in principle with more than 300 tariff lines", he stated.
The communication following the meeting of the 27 comes after, this Sunday, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, indicated that the retaliatory countermeasures being prepared by the European Union expected for this Monday, targeting up to 21 billion dollars of imports to the United States, are postponed for the next few weeks, in the expectation of a negotiation outcome by August 1.
Early next month, the Donald Trump administration is threatening to impose 30% tariffs on all European goods sold to the United States. Currently, the 27-nation bloc already faces 10% tariffs on most goods, with higher tariffs applied to steel and aluminum (50%) and motor vehicles (25%).
Within the bloc, there has been disagreement regarding the response to the United States. France, in particular, has been advocating for a more aggressive stance from Brussels. The message conveyed by the rotating EU presidency, currently held by Denmark, however, is that member states continue to support the Commission's positions. Lars Loke Rasmussen, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, conveyed the idea of"a strong sense of unity" at the press conference following the 27-member meeting.
The new list of surcharges worth 72 billion euros was already anticipated by some diplomatic sources to the press, but the possibilities of responding to the US, as well as the negotiations, remain open."It does not exhaust our toolbox and all instruments remain on the table," according to Maros Sefcovic.
Meanwhile, Brussels says it is putting its cards on the list of new trade agreements with the rest of the world, especially in Asia and the Pacific, with the Trade Commissioner announcing to the Council that a political agreement has been reached for a free trade agreement with Indonesia—"one of the largest economies in the world," as he emphasized.
The commissioner also pointed to future agreements with Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia, and suggested the possibility of a trade agreement with India by the end of the year. Negotiations are also underway with the United Arab Emirates and the intention is to launch discussions"as soon as possible" with the countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TCPT), which includes Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
