European trade ministers meet to forge strategy after Trump's surprise 30% tariffs
"So we want a deal, but there's an old saying: 'If you want peace, you have to prepare for war.'' The tariffs, also imposed on Mexico, are set to start on Aug 1 and could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the U.S., and destabilize economies from Portugal to Norway.
Meanwhile, Brussels decided to suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods scheduled to take effect Monday in hopes of reaching a trade deal with the Trump administration by the end of the month. The "countermeasures' by the EU, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of its 27 member countries, will be delayed until Aug. 1.
Trump's letter shows "that we have until the first of August' to negotiate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday. Maroš Šefčovič, the EU's trade representative in its talks with the U.S., said negotiations would continue "I'm absolutely 100% sure that a negotiated solution is much better than the tension which we might have after the 1st of August," he told reporters in Brussels on Monday.
"I cannot imagine walking away without genuine effort. Having said that, the current uncertainty caused by unjustified tariffs cannot persist indefinitely and therefore we must prepare for all outcomes, including, if necessary, well-considered proportionate countermeasures to restore the balance in our transit static relationship.'
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Kuwait Times
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Kuwait Times
10 hours ago
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Kuwait Times
10 hours ago
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