00:00We're dealing with other countries, and certain countries that would rather have a deal than
00:06a regular tavern. We're willing, if they're willing to open up. These are countries that
00:11have been shut to us, but we've been open to them. In other words, they wouldn't let
00:15us do business there, but they would do business in our country. Not a fair deal.
00:20So the European Union is talking to us. They want to open up their country.
00:24Today we discussed the state of play and prospects for EU-US trade relations,
00:28including possible EU countermeasures, in light of the ongoing negotiations for an
00:34agreement in principle, as well as President Trump's announcement over the weekend of 30%
00:40general tariffs on the EU from the 1st of August, which, I must say, member states find absolutely
00:47unacceptable and unjustified. The EU, as you know very well, never walks away without genuine effort,
00:56especially considering the hard work invested, how close we find ourselves to making a deal,
01:02and the clear benefits of the negotiated solution. The feeling on our side was that we are very close
01:09to an agreement. I mean, we have been negotiating this agreement in principles for four weeks, and
01:15I think that we've been almost there. And of course, there have been some sectoral issues upon which we've
01:20been negotiating. So my sense was we are approaching the good outcome for both sides. I appreciate, though,
01:27that I was getting the heads up just before the letter was coming. And of course, I clearly recorded
01:35my disappointment about this measure because it puts us into a totally different dynamic. But nevertheless,
01:40I felt also from my United States counterparts that despite the letter, they are ready to continue the
01:47negotiations. We, of course, will use that opportunity because I'm absolutely 100% sure that
01:53negotiated solution is much better than the tension which we might have after the 1st of August,
01:59if we will not land this one.
02:01So if you are talking about 30% or 30% plus, there will be a huge impact on trade. It will be almost
02:21impossible to continue the trading as we are used in a transatlantic relationship. And if you look at
02:26the impact this would have, so I have to say that the transatlantic supply chains would be heavily affected
02:34on the both sides of Atlantic.
02:35Die Märkte sind von dem Vorgehen von Donald Trump doch etwas überrascht. Das ist doch ein relativ
02:39unkonventionelles Vorgehen. Das versetzt die Märkte zurück in die Unsicherheit. Die EU ist entsprechend
02:45gut beraten, entsprechend auf Gegenmaßnahmen zu verzichten, so wie es bereits angekündigt wurde,
02:49und entsprechend in die Verhandlungen einzutreten.
