
EU, Indonesia strike political agreement to advance free trade deal
The trade deal, dubbed CEPA for Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, will create more opportunities in key industries such as agriculture and the automotive sector, von der Leyen added.
'There's a lot of untouched potential in our trade relationship and therefore this agreement comes at the right time because the new agreement will open new markets', she said at a press conference with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
'We consider Europe to be very important to us. That's why we would like to see more European presence and more European participation in our economy,' Subianto said. 'I think that in this era of instability or confusion, we are setting a right example.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Economic Times
21 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Buckingham palace confirms Trump's second UK state visit in September
Buckingham palace confirms Trump's second UK state visit in September Synopsis Donald Trump is poised for a second state visit to the UK in September, invited by King Charles III, despite past clashes with London's mayor, Sadiq Khan. The visit's timing may prevent Trump from addressing Parliament, unlike President Macron's recent visit. Trump has also announced new tariffs on goods from Mexico and the EU, citing border security and trade imbalances. Washington: US President Donald Trump is set to make a historic second state visit to the UK, likely in September, following a formal invitation from King Charles III, The New York Times reported, citing Buckingham Palace's statement. ADVERTISEMENT The King extended the invitation through a letter delivered by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a visit to the Oval Office in February. According to The New York Times, Trump relished his last state visit to Britain in 2019, when Queen Elizabeth II hosted him. The queen threw him a lavish banquet at Buckingham Palace and gave him a royal artillery salute. In a documentary about his political comeback, "The Art of the Surge," Trump showed off a book of photos of himself and the queen, "who was fantastic, by the way," he said. But Trump picked a fight with London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim, just before his arrival, calling him a "stone-cold loser" on social media and accusing him of doing a terrible job of running Britain's capital city, as per The New York Times. ADVERTISEMENT Khan had described Trump as "just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat," likening the president's language to that used by "fascists of the 20th century."He remains mayor, and there is little indication that their mutual antipathy has softened. ADVERTISEMENT The timing of Trump's visit makes it unlikely he will be accorded the honour of delivering a speech to Parliament, several British papers is usually not in session in late September because the country's political parties hold their annual policy conferences during that period. ADVERTISEMENT That could set up an awkward contrast with the visit of President Emmanuel Macron of France, who spoke to Parliament during his state visit last Macron, Trump will be hosted at Windsor Castle rather than Buckingham Palace, which is undergoing major renovations. ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, recently, Trump on Saturday announced a 30 per cent tariff on goods from Mexico and the European Union starting August 1, intensifying trade tensions with two of the country's top economic partners,In separate letters posted on Truth Social, Trump informed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about the tariff decision, citing border security and trade imbalances as key reasons, according to The his letter to Sheinbaum Pardo, Trump referenced the ongoing fentanyl crisis as a major concern behind the decision. "Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done is not enough," the president wrote. As The Hill noted, the US had previously imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Mexican goods, though Trump later exempted items covered under the 2020 US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. It remains unclear whether those exemptions will still apply after the new tariffs take effect on August 1. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates. NEXT STORY

The Hindu
21 minutes ago
- The Hindu
The EU is delaying retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in hopes of reaching a deal by Aug. 1
The European Union will suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods scheduled to take effect on Monday (July 14, 2025) in hopes of reaching a trade deal with the Trump administration by the end of the month. ″This is now the time for negotiations,″ European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday (July 13, 2205), after President Donald Trump sent a letter announcing new tariffs of 30% on goods from the EU and Mexico starting Aug. 1. The EU — America's biggest trading partner and the world's largest trading bloc — had been scheduled to impose ″countermeasures″ starting Monday at midnight Brussels time (6 p.m. EDT; 22:00 GMT). The EU negotiates trade deals on behalf of its 27 member countries. Ms. Von der Leyen said those countermeasures would be delayed until Aug. 1, and that Mr. Trump's letter shows ″that we have until the first of August″ to negotiate. ″We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution,″ she said. If they can't reach a deal, she said that ″we will continue to prepare countermeasures so we are fully prepared.″ Europe's biggest exports to the U.S. are pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments and wine and spirits. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani was heading to Washington for talks Monday with the U.S. administration and Congress. In a statement, Mr. Tajani's office said that in his talks with EU allies before the meetings, he stressed the need to 'negotiate with one's head held high.' The right-wing government of Premier Giorgia Meloni, the only EU leader to attend Trump's inauguration, has sought to position itself as a ' bridge' between Brussels and Washington. Mr. Trump has said his global tariffs would set the foundation for reviving a U.S. economy that he claims has been ripped off by other nations for decades. Mr. Trump in his letter to the EU said the U.S. trade deficit was a national security threat. Mr. Trump isn't satisfied with some of the draft agreements on trade, White House National Economic Council Kevin Hassett said on ABC News on Sunday. 'The bottom line is that he's seen some sketches of deals that had been negotiated with Howard Lutnick and the rest of the trade team, and the president thinks that the deals need to be better, and to basically put a line in the sand, he sent these letters out to folks. And we'll see how it works out," he said. U.S. trade partners — and companies around the world from French winemakers to German carmakers — have faced months of uncertainty and on-and-off threats from Mr. Trump to impose tariffs, with deadlines sometimes extended or changed. The tariffs could have ramifications for nearly every aspect of the global economy. The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. Trade Ministers from EU countries are scheduled to meet Monday to discuss trade relations with the U.S., as well as with China. Speaking alongside Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Ms. von der Leyen said the trade tensions with the U.S. show the importance of ''diversifying our trade relationships.″ Announcing closer cooperation between the EU and Indonesia, she stressed the need for ''predictable'' trading partnerships based on ''trust.'' The Indonesian leader said, ''I think the United States will be always a very important leader in the world,'' but also stressed the need for multilateral relationships, adding, ''We would like to see a very strong Europe.''
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
34 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Wall Street, Asian stocks slip as Trump's tariff threats rattle investors
Losses in Wall Street futures dragged Asian stocks lower on Monday as the latest round of threats in the US tariff wars kept investors on edge, though the fallout was limited by hopes this was mainly bluster by President Donald Trump. Trump on Saturday said he would impose a 30 per cent tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico from August 1, even as they are locked in long negotiations. The European Union said it would extend a suspension of countermeasures to US tariffs until early August and continue to press for a negotiated settlement, though Germany's finance minister called for firm action if the levies went ahead. Investors have become largely inured to Trump's chaotic policy methods and stocks eased only modestly, while the dollar gained just a fraction on the euro. "It is hard to say whether the muted market response is best characterised by resilience or complacency," said Taylor Nugent, a senior markets economist at NAB. "But it is difficult to price the array of headlines purportedly defining where tariffs will sit from August when negotiations are ongoing." For now, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan were little changed, while Japan's Nikkei eased 0.5 per cent. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both eased 0.4 per cent. Earnings season kicks off this week with the major banks leading the pack on Tuesday. S&P companies are expected to have increased profits by 5.8 per cent from the year-earlier period, down from an expectation of a 10.2 per cent gain on April 1, according to LSEG IBES. Analysts at BofA noted the bar was low for earnings with consensus seeing a slowdown to 4 per cent growth, from the previous quarter's 13 per cent. "We expect a modest beat of 2 per cent, below the 3 per cent average and last quarter's 6 per cent figure, though medium-term, we are more constructive," they wrote in a note. Pressuring Powell In bond markets, Treasuries got a very marginal safety bid and 10-year yields held at 4.41 per cent. Futures for the Federal Reserve funds rate edged higher as markets priced in a little more policy easing for next year. While Fed Chair Jerome Powell has signalled a patient outlook on cuts, Trump is piling up political pressure for more aggressive stimulus. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett over the weekend warned Trump might have grounds to fire Powell because of renovation cost overruns at the Fed's Washington headquarters. Trump said on Sunday that it would be a great thing if Powell stepped down. Figures on US consumer prices for June are due on Tuesday and could finally start to show early upward pressure from tariffs, though retailers still have pre-levy inventory to draw on and some companies are absorbing the costs into margins. The impact on supply chain costs could show in producer price and import price figures this week, while a reading on retail sales will indicate how consumers are faring. There is also a raft of data out from China starting with June trade on Monday, followed by retail sales, industrial output and gross domestic product the day after. Among currencies, the euro dipped 0.2 per cent on the tariff news to $1.1665, edging away from its recent four-year top of $1.1830. The dollar added 0.1 per cent on the yen to 147.53 and a similar amount on its currency index to 98.008. The dollar also gained 0.3 per cent on the Mexican peso to 18.6900, with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confident a trade deal could be reached before the August deadline. In commodity markets, gold picked up a modest safe-haven bid and rose 0.3 per cent to $3,366 an ounce. [GOL/] Oil prices edged higher on speculation Trump could announce stiffer sanctions on Russia later on Monday, including levies on major customers buying Russian oil. [O/R] Brent edged up 0.1 per cent to $70.45 a barrel, while US crude firmed slightly to $0.68.50 per barrel.