President Donald Trump signaled that a formal tariff letter to the European Union may be just days away, raising concerns over escalating trade tensions as the U.S. prepares to impose sweeping tariffs ranging from 25% to 40% on exports from 14 countries including Japan, South Korea, Laos, and Myanmar, while the EU seeks possible exemptions from the baseline 10% levy, prolonging market uncertainty and complicating global trade negotiations ahead of the August 1 deadline.
00:00President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is probably two days off from signing the European Union a letter disclosing the tariff rate on their exports to the U.S.
00:09Trump said during a cabinet meeting at the White House that the EU had been treating the U.S. very nicely recently in trade talks.
00:17The European Union has been speaking to us, Ursula and the whole group, and they've been very nice.
00:22They treated us very badly until recently. Now they're treating us very nicely. It's like a different world, actually.
00:27They've treated us very badly. They were among the toughest to deal with.
00:32Actually, in many respects, they were much worse than China. Look at what they do to our companies.
00:37They sue Apple. They sue Google. $17 billion they got from Apple on a lawsuit that they didn't have a case.
00:46They have, you know, judges that are European Union judges.
00:50And they ruled. They take so much money away from our country in terms of that, in terms of other things that they do.
00:56They're very tough. But now they're being very nice to us. And we'll see what happens.
01:01We're probably two days off from sending them a letter. We are talking to them.
01:07I just want you to know, a letter means a deal.
01:11Meanwhile, the European Union will not receive a letter from the United States setting out higher tariffs.
01:17EU sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday,
01:20and is eyeing possible exemptions from the U.S. baseline levy of 10 percent.
01:25Some EU sources said the bloc was close to an agreement with the Trump administration.
01:31This could involve limited concessions to U.S. baseline tariffs of 10 percent for aircraft and parts,
01:37some medical equipment and spirits in an eventual deal with the Trump administration,
01:42three sources familiar with the situation said on Monday.
01:44Two sources also said that the EU was looking into an arrangement that would allow EU automakers
01:51that produce and export cars from the United States to import more EU vehicles at tariff rates below the current 25 percent.
01:59Such an arrangement would benefit German car makers that have large U.S. plants.
02:04The European Commission, which had aimed for a balanced and broader trade agreement with the United States,
02:10briefed EU invoices late on Monday that EU countries faced a choice between accepting an unbalanced deal or facing more uncertainty.
02:19The Commission also said that there were no guarantees that Trump administration would not impose further tariffs or demand further concessions.
02:27The EU currently faces 50 percent U.S. tariffs on its steel and aluminium exports, 25 percent on cars and car parts,
02:35and 10 percent on most other products.
02:38The U.S. is also looking into further tariffs on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
Be the first to comment