After Trump's shock tariff announcement, Europe still hopes for negotiations
US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday, July 12, the imposition of 30% tariffs on the European Union, once again escalating trade tensions. These tariffs will take effect on August 1, Trump specified in a letter published on his Truth Social platform, blaming the trade imbalance in goods with Europe.
For the EU and the European Commission, which had been informed of the letter as early as Friday, the announcement appeared as a slap in the face, since for three months European teams had been negotiating with the US administration on a single minimum threshold of 10% for a wide range of products, similar to the deal reached in May by the United Kingdom with the United States.
Despite reservations from certain countries, including France, Europeans seemed resigned to this level of taxation. "While we remain committed to achieving a satisfactory deal, we need to acknowledge a certain degree of rebalancing will remain," said Maros Sefcovic, the commissioner in charge of trade, on Wednesday. In 2023, the EU exported €822.5 billion worth of goods and services to the United States, while importing €774.5 billion from across the Atlantic. In reality, Europe exported more goods than the United States, but imported far more services.
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