EU says could target US$84 billions of US goods if tariff talks fail
The bloc's trade chief, Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, announced the proposal, "accounting for some €72 billion worth of US imports", at a meeting with EU ministers in Brussels.
The move came after US President Donald Trump threw months of painstaking negotiations with the EU into disarray by threatening to impose tariffs of 30 per cent on the bloc's goods if there is no deal by Aug 1.
EU trade ministers agreed they were still keen to secure an agreement with Washington before that deadline to head off the damaging duties.
But at the same time Brussels is moving to ready potential retaliation if Trump presses ahead with the sweeping tariffs.
"There was a total unified position among the ministers that we should be ready to respond if needed," said Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.
The EU has already prepared a separate list of US imports worth €21 billion that it is ready to target over earlier tariffs from Trump on steel and aluminium.
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Business Times
12 minutes ago
- Business Times
Tariff free or not, US cars could find less takers in Vietnam's roads
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Koketso Tsoai, automobiles analyst at BMI, said: 'US brands would still face limits to their market share due to persistent non-tariff barriers, weaker after-sales networks, consumer concerns about maintenance, and the strong presence of local and Chinese brands in the entry and mid-range SUV segments.' The large engine vehicle that 'does so well in the US', as Trump noted on his Truth Social post announcing the trade deal with Hanoi on Jul 2, has little traction in Vietnam, where drivers often navigate dense traffic and narrow streets ill-suited for bulky SUVs. 'American SUVs are often oversized for Vietnam's roads and infrastructure, which are not built to accommodate vehicles of that size,' said Nguyen Phuc Lam, chief executive at Sencar Mobility, a car-sharing service provider in Vietnam. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up 'For EV brands like Tesla, the limited charging infrastructure remains a major obstacle,' he added. Who rules the road? Based on a report by Asian Automotive Analysis, Vietnam's total auto sales surpassed 450,000 units last year, marking an 18.8 per cent increase from the previous year. SUVs accounted for 46 per cent of the total. Vietnam's total car sales lag behind regional peers such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, and its streets are still dominated by motorbikes rather than cars. As at end-2024, the country had 77 million registered motorcycles – roughly 11 for every one of the country's 6.8 million registered cars, according to the Vietnam Register. Motorbikes make up more than 90 per cent of all registered vehicles in Vietnam. PHOTO: AFP Yet the country is becoming increasingly attractive to global automakers wanting to expand, thanks to a growing middle class, low car ownership rates and recent curbs on gasoline-powered motorbikes. Nguyen Quoc Binh, administrator of an online community for Vietnamese car lovers with nearly 1.6 million members in its Facebook group, noted that some of the largest models favoured by Vietnamese drivers include Japan's Toyota Land Cruiser and Lexus LX600, both well-suited to local road conditions. 'American SUVs are often too bulky and fuel-slurping. Even though a few are not overly expensive, people are generally not that interested in them,' Binh stated. Furthermore, he noted that US-made cars entering Vietnam still face a multi-layered cost structure, including special consumption taxes and logistics fees. Even with import tariffs fully scrapped, retail prices would only fall by about 15 to 20 per cent; this is unlikely a game-changer for car buyers willing to splurge on niche, premium models. Customising to local market preferences is key, Binh said, pointing to several Ford pickup models with smaller engines that are assembled in Vietnam and priced competitively against some Japanese rivals. 'Their smaller models are well-built and continuously updated to match local consumer preferences, which is why Ford achieved quite impressive sales,' he said. Backed by its local factory, which has been operating for nearly three decades, Ford is currently the only US car manufacturer to have secured a significant market share in Vietnam, selling more than 42,000 units in 2024. However, its sales still trail behind domestic manufacturer VinFast, South Korea's Hyundai and Japan's Toyota. Binh believes that certain mid-range Ford models produced in the US with engine capacities below 3,000 cc could benefit from the tax cut from 50 per cent to zero as several dealers have indicated they are ready to import these vehicles to offer more competitive options to customers. But such small additions are unlikely to significantly shift the automotive landscape in Vietnam. Overall, US brands struggle to compete in the compact car segment, dominated by Toyota and Hyundai, and in the EV market, where VinFast holds a clear advantage, said Chris Liu, senior automotive analyst at global technology advisory group Omdia. Fight against pollution As part of a sweeping initiative to combat worsening air pollution, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered Hanoi to ban all fossil fuel-powered motorbikes and mopeds from Hanoi's downtown Ring Road 1 – an inner urban beltway – starting Jul 1 next year. The restriction will expand in 2028 to include private gasoline-powered cars within both Ring Roads 1 and 2. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City is also considering similar restrictions in areas facing high pollution. Such policies are expected to benefit VinFast, which currently holds a leading position in Vietnam's EV and motorbike market. The VF3, a mini electric SUV produced by VinFast, was Vietnam's top-selling car model in the first half of 2025, with sales exceeding 23,000 units. PHOTO: VINFAST Lacking economies of scale Aside from Ford, US carmakers are also unlikely to establish local production facilities in Vietnam to compete more effectively, as limited sales volumes do not justify such investments in the short term. More established automotive hubs in Asean can also serve as re-export centres to Vietnam without incurring import duties, making local production even less attractive. 'Vietnam's market is fragmented; even top models sell only 10,000-15,000 units per year,' said Akshay Prasad, principal of automotive practice in South-east Asia at global management consulting firm Arthur D Little. 'Setting up facilities, whether for fully knocked-down or semi-knockdown vehicles, requires US$50-100 million investment, (which is) hard to justify without regional scale.' The most notable failure was the withdrawal of General Motors' Chevrolet from Vietnam in 2018, when it transferred local operations to VinFast. It later exited other South-east Asian markets as well, largely due to poor sales and unprofitable operations. A media statement regarding the US carmaker's exit from Indonesia in 2020 offered insight into its rationale: to 'focus on markets where there is a clear pathway to sustainable profitability'. In addition, US brands such as Ford also already source from neighbouring Thailand to enjoy duty-free access to Vietnam under the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement. European Union-origin cars are also benefiting from phased tariff cuts to zero by 2030, thanks to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). 'In terms of building export-oriented plants, the (previous) lack of a US-Vietnam free trade agreement makes the country less competitive than Korea or Mexico,' Omdia's Liu noted. 'However, auto parts stand out as a bright spot, with Vietnam becoming a credible hub for labour-intensive component making,' he added.
CNA
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- CNA
US AI startups see funding surge while more VC funds struggle to raise, data shows
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Business Times
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China's economy grows 5.2% on trade war truce
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