EU appears to back down on US trade alongside Canada amid Trump strong-arm tactics
Donald Trump 's strong-arm tactics against American trading partners appeared to bear some fruit on Monday following reports that the
European Union was willing to pay 10 per cent higher levies on many of its exports, after another climbdown by
Canada on Sunday.
In considering the 10 per cent increase, however, the 27-member EU bloc reportedly wanted a US commitment to reduce tariffs in return affecting
pharmaceuticals , alcohol,
semiconductors and
commercial aircraft , Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Brussels was also pushing Washington to effectively ease sectoral US tariffs of 25 per cent import taxes on
cars and car parts and 50 per cent on steel and aluminium, Bloomberg added, citing people familiar with the matter.
The apparent concession by the EU follows a decision by Canada to drop a 3 per cent digital services tax that the US president did not like.
This came after Trump announced on
social media on Friday that 'we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately'.
Play
The administration had added that it would decide without any consultation with Ottawa what forthcoming US tariff levels Canada would face.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
41 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump reaches Vietnam trade deal with 20% import tariff
US President Donald Trump said he had reached a trade deal with Vietnam, following weeks of intense diplomacy between the two nations and ahead of a deadline next week that would have seen higher tariffs imposed on the country's imports. 'I just made a Trade Deal with Vietnam . Details to follow,' Trump said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. The deal with Vietnam would be just the third announced following agreements with the UK and China as trading partners race to cut agreements with the US ahead of a July 9 deadline. Trump had imposed a 46 per cent duty on Vietnam as part of his initial roll-out of so-called reciprocal tariffs in early April, then pared it back to 10 per cent to allow time for negotiations. The southeast Asian nation has seen its sales to US markets surge in recent years, partly because manufacturers shifted production there from China. It's a major supplier of textiles and sportswear, hosting factories for companies such as Nike, Gap and Lululemon. Vietnam was the sixth-biggest supplier of US imports last year, sending goods worth almost US$137 billion, according to Census Bureau data. Employees work at a shoe factory for export in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: Reuters The deal with Vietnam was struck after weeks of discussions during which the US pressured the country to get tougher on trade fraud, ensure stricter enforcement against the transshipment of Chinese products, and also pushed for the removal of non-tariff barriers.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Wang Yi tells top EU officials in Brussels to unite against ‘unilateralism and bullying'
Beijing's top envoy has called for China and Europe to join forces against 'unilateralism and bullying' in a thinly veiled swipe at the United States, after meeting European Union leaders in Brussels. Advertisement Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, before sitting down for marathon political talks with the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas that were expected to run over dinner. 'The world today is full of turmoil, and unilateralism and bullying have severely impacted the international order and international rules,' Wang told Costa, the former Portuguese premier, according to a readout published by China's foreign ministry. 'As the two major forces and economies in the world, if China and Europe insist on dialogue and cooperation, it will be difficult for camps to form,' he continued, doubling down on the need to 'strengthen unity' in a 'turbulent world'. The meetings were intended to set the agenda for a leaders' summit in Beijing and Hefei in three weeks, when the EU trio will meet China's President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang over two days. Advertisement Leading the Brussels agenda for the Wednesday meetings were China's ties with Russia and its prickly trade relations with the EU, which have worsened in recent weeks after Beijing introduced export restrictions on rare earth elements and magnets. Concerning the Ukraine war, Wang 'stressed that China always determines its position based on the right and wrong of the matter itself, and will continue to stand firmly on the side of peace and play a constructive role in promoting peace talks and politically resolving the crisis', the readout said.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Tesla's global sales drop again as competition, Musk backlash bite
Tesla posted another big drop in quarterly deliveries on Wednesday, putting it on course for its second straight annual sales decline as demand falters due to backlash over CEO Elon Musk 's political stance and an ageing vehicle line-up. Still, shares of the electric carmaker gained 3 per cent in early trading as the decline proved less severe than the bleakest analyst projections. Tesla said it delivered 384,122 vehicles in the second quarter, down 13.5 per cent from 443,956 units a year ago. Analysts expected it to report deliveries of about 394,378 vehicles, according to an average of 23 estimates from Visible Alpha, though projections went as low as 360,080 units based on estimates from 10 analysts over the past month. 'The market is reacting to the deliveries not being as bad as potentially thought with multiple analysts cutting their forecasts over the past week,' said Seth Goldstein, senior equity analyst at Morningstar. The stock has lost 25 per cent of its value so far this year as investors feared brand damage in Europe and US from Musk's embrace of right-wing politics and his role in spearheading the Trump administration's cost-cutting effort.
