EU threatens countermeasures over US tariffs, Trump says he is open to talks
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US President Donald Trump stepped up his trade war on July 12, saying he would impose a 30 per cent tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico in August.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON – The European Union on July 14 accused the US of resisting efforts to strike a trade deal and warned of countermeasures if no agreement is reached to avoid the punishing tariffs US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose starting on Aug 1.
Mr Trump, meanwhile, said he was open to further discussions with the EU and other trading partners before new 30 per cent tariffs come into effect in August and that EU officials would be coming to the US for negotiations.
“They would like to do a different kind of a deal, and we’re always open to talk, including to Europe,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. “In fact, they’re coming over. They’d like to talk.”
Mr Trump stepped up his trade war
The EU has so far held off on retaliatory measures to avoid a spiralling tit-for-tat escalation while there remains a chance of negotiating an improved outcome. But EU ministers emerging from a meeting in Brussels on July 14 appeared closer to striking back.
Speaking at a news conference following the meeting, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the tariff threat “absolutely unacceptable”.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said he believed there was “still a potential to continue the negotiations” but voiced frustration with Washington’s failure to agree to a deal with its largest trading partner.
“As I said before, it takes two hands to clap,” he said, adding that EU member states agreed that the 27-nation bloc would need to take countermeasures if the trade negotiations with the US fail.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani earlier said the EU had already prepared a list of tariffs worth €21 billion (S$31.4 billion) on US goods if the two sides fail to reach a deal.
Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on July 14 that she believed the two sides would reach a deal on security ahead of the Aug 1 deadline.
The White House has clarified that the 30 per cent tariffs on Mexico, which Mr Trump has blamed for not doing more to stem the flow of fentanyl into the US, would not apply to goods shipped under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which covers the vast majority of goods shipped from Mexico to the US.
Ms Sheinbaum said any agreement would not involve US forces entering Mexican territory, as previously floated by Mr Trump.
European stocks dip
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said trade talks were still under way with the European Union, Canada and Mexico. Canada is facing a tariff of 35 per cent
The threatened duties have sounded alarm bells in Europe, notably in Germany, the EU’s biggest economy. After German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on July 13 that a 30 per cent tariff would “hit the German export industry to the core”, the head of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry called for swift action.
“The escalating tariff conflict with the US poses a serious threat to many German companies,” Dr Volker Treier said on July 14. “Tough negotiations are now needed to avert a collapse of transatlantic trade.”
European industries, meanwhile, are preparing for the worst. Producers of Italy’s renowned Chianti wine in Tuscany, for example, have demanded a new export strategy backed by the EU targeting alternative markets such as South America, Asia and Africa.
Since returning to the White House earlier in 2025, Mr Trump has sought to use an array of tariffs to boost the US economy, push companies to invest in the US and revitalise manufacturing.
His initial “Liberation Day” tariff announcement in April
But subsequent U-turns and delays, including a 90-day pause on most duties aimed at allowing time for trade deal negotiations, have left investors largely inured to Mr Trump’s chaotic policy roll-outs.
European stocks fell on July 14, while US indices were little changed in response to the latest salvo. European autos and alcohol stocks were among those hardest hit.
Scramble for deals
The looming Aug 1 deadline has set off a scramble by governments around the world to seal trade agreements.
South Korea’s top trade envoy said on July 14 that it may be possible to strike a deal “in principle” by the deadline and signalled that Seoul may be open to allowing the US greater access to its agriculture markets, local media reported.
Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo, who held high-level talks with US officials last week, said South Korea was seeking to avoid “unfair” US tariffs
“I believe it’s possible to reach an agreement in principle in the US tariff negotiations and then take some time to negotiate further,” the Newsis news agency quoted Mr Yeo as telling local media reporters.
“Twenty days are not enough to come up with a perfect treaty that contains every detail,” he added.
South Korea is in a race to reach a compromise trade pact in the hope of avoiding a 25 per cent tariff slapped on its exports, the same level faced by Japan. REUTERS
