UniCredit Gets ECB Green Light to Raise Commerzbank Stake
The Italian bank said it still needs the approval from Germany's competition regulator and others before its around 18.5% stake held through derivatives can be converted into physical shares.
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Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Analysis-Out-gunned Europe accepts least-worst US trade deal
By Mark John LONDON (Reuters) -In the end, Europe found it lacked the leverage to pull Donald Trump's America into a trade pact on its terms and so has signed up to a deal it can just about stomach - albeit one that is clearly skewed in the U.S.'s favour. As such, Sunday's agreement on a blanket 15% tariff after a months-long stand-off is a reality check on the aspirations of the 27-country European Union to become an economic power able to stand up to the likes of the United States or China. The cold shower is all the more bracing given that the EU has long portrayed itself as an export superpower and champion of rules-based commerce for the benefit both of its own soft power and the global economy as a whole. For sure, the new tariff that will now be applied is a lot more digestible than the 30% "reciprocal" tariff which Trump threatened to invoke in a few days. While it should ensure Europe avoids recession, it will likely keep its economy in the doldrums: it sits somewhere between two tariff scenarios the European Central Bank last month forecast would mean 0.5-0.9% economic growth this year compared to just over 1% in a trade tension-free environment. But this is nonetheless a landing point that would have been scarcely imaginable only months ago in the pre-Trump 2.0 era, when the EU along with much of the world could count on U.S. tariffs averaging out at around 1.5%. Even when Britain agreed a baseline tariff of 10% with the United States back in May, EU officials were adamant they could do better and - convinced the bloc had the economic heft to square up to Trump - pushed for a "zero-for-zero" tariff pact. It took a few weeks of fruitless talks with their U.S. counterparts for the Europeans to accept that 10% was the best they could get and a few weeks more to take the same 15% baseline which the United States agreed with Japan last week. "The EU does not have more leverage than the U.S., and the Trump administration is not rushing things," said one senior official in a European capital who was being briefed on last week's negotiations as they closed in around the 15% level. That official and others pointed to the pressure from Europe's export-oriented businesses to clinch a deal and so ease the levels of uncertainty starting to hit businesses from Finland's Nokia to Swedish steelmaker SSAB. "We were dealt a bad hand. This deal is the best possible play under the circumstances," said one EU diplomat. "Recent months have clearly shown how damaging uncertainty in global trade is for European businesses." NOW WHAT? That imbalance - or what the trade negotiators have been calling "asymmetry" - is manifest in the final deal. Not only is it expected that the EU will now call off any retaliation and remain open to U.S. goods on existing terms, but it has also pledged $600 billion of investment in the United States. The time-frame for that remains undefined, as do other details of the accord for now. As talks unfolded, it became clear that the EU came to the conclusion it had more to lose from all-out confrontation. The retaliatory measures it threatened totalled some 93 billion euros - less than half its U.S. goods trade surplus of nearly 200 billion euros. True, a growing number of EU capitals were also ready to envisage wide-ranging anti-coercion measures that would have allowed the bloc to target the services trade in which the United States had a surplus of some $75 billion last year. But even then, there was no clear majority for targeting the U.S. digital services which European citizens enjoy and for which there are scant homegrown alternatives - from Netflix to Uber to Microsoft cloud services. It remains to be seen whether this will encourage European leaders to accelerate the economic reforms and diversification of trading allies to which they have long paid lip service but which have been held back by national divisions. Describing the deal as a painful compromise that was an "existential threat" for many of its members, Germany's BGA wholesale and export association said it was time for Europe to reduce its reliance on its biggest trading partner. "Let's look on the past months as a wake-up call," said BGA President Dirk Jandura. "Europe must now prepare itself strategically for the future - we need new trade deals with the biggest industrial powers of the world." (Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski in Brussels; Christian Kraemer and Maria Martinez in Berlin; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Nick Zieminski) Sign in to access your portfolio
New York Post
8 hours ago
- New York Post
Trump and Ursula von der Leyen to meet for high stakes trade talks as clock ticks on tariff deadline
President Donald Trump is meeting Sunday with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, taking a break from golfing in Scotland to discuss trade as both sides seek an agreement on tariff rates with the White House's deadline to impose stiff import taxes looming this week. Trump continued his golfing weekend at his course in Turnberry on the southwest coast of Scotland with a group that included sons Eric and Donald Jr. and their wives. The Republican president waved at reporters and listened to shouted questions about the prospect of reaching a European Union deal during his private afternoon meeting with von der Leyen, but he offered no comment. Trump's five-day visit to Scotland is built around golf and promoting properties bearing his name. Advertisement 5 President Donald Trump waving at reporters ahead of his meeting with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland to discuss trade. AP 5 Trump was at his golf course in Turnberry with a group that included Donald Jr. AP 5 Trump's five-day visit to Scotland was for golf and promoting properties bearing his name. AP Advertisement A small group of protesters at Turnberry waved American flags and raised a sign criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who plans his own Turnberry meeting with Trump on Monday. Other voices could be heard cheering and chanting 'Trump! Trump!' as he played nearby. On Tuesday, Trump will be in Aberdeen, in northeastern Scotland, where his family has another golf course and is opening a third next month. The president and his sons plan to help cut the ribbon on the new course. Trump for months has threatened most of the world with steep tariffs in hopes of shrinking large U.S. trade deficits with many key trading partners. The EU has been no exception. 5 Protesters at Turnberry waved American flags and raised a sign criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is planning to meet with Trump on Monday. REUTERS Advertisement 5 Without a deal, the EU says it is prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products. AP Trump has said 'we have a 50-50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50-50 chance of making a deal with the EU.' He also suggested that any deal would have to 'buy down' the currently scheduled tariff rate of 30% on the bloc of 27 member states. The U.S. and EU seemed close to a deal earlier this month, but Trump instead threatened a 30% tariff rate. Trump's original deadline has passed, delayed until at least Friday. Without a deal, the EU says it is prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes. Advertisement If Trump eventually makes good on his threat of tariffs against Europe, it could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the United States. Trump recently said he thought the odds of reaching a framework with Japan was 25%, but the allies announced an agreement this past week. His focus on trade has followed him to Scotland. On Saturday, he posted on his Truth Social platform that he would block any trade deals between the U.S. and Cambodia and Thailand because of their violent clashes along long-disputed border areas. Trump wrote that he spoke with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Phumtham Wechayachai, the acting prime minister of Thailand, to call for a ceasefire. Both countries, Trump said, want to 'get back to the 'Trading Table' with the United States, which we think is inappropriate to do until such time as the fighting STOPS. … When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!' The U.S. and Britain, meanwhile, announced a trade framework in May and a larger agreement last month during the Group of Seven meeting in Canada. Trump says that deal is concluded and that he and Starmer will discuss other matters, though the White House has suggested it still needs some polishing.
The Hill
8 hours ago
- The Hill
Threat of US-EU trade war looms as Trump and top European official plan talks in Scotland
EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting Sunday with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, taking a break from golfing in Scotland to discuss trade as both sides seek an agreement on tariff rates with the White House's deadline to impose stiff import taxes looming this week. Trump continued his golfing weekend at his course in Turnberry on the southwest coast of Scotland with a group that included sons Eric and Donald Jr. and their wives. The Republican president waved at reporters and listened to shouted questions about the prospect of reaching a European Union deal during his private afternoon meeting with von der Leyen, but he offered no comment. Trump's five-day visit to Scotland is built around golf and promoting properties bearing his name. A small group of protesters at Turnberry waved American flags and raised a sign criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who plans his own Turnberry meeting with Trump on Monday. Other voices could be heard cheering and chanting 'Trump! Trump!' as he played nearby. On Tuesday, Trump will be in Aberdeen, in northeastern Scotland, where his family has another golf course and is opening a third next month. The president and his sons plan to help cut the ribbon on the new course. Trump for months has threatened most of the world with steep tariffs in hopes of shrinking large U.S. trade deficits with many key trading partners. The EU has been no exception. Trump has said 'we have a 50-50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50-50 chance of making a deal with the EU.' He also suggested that any deal would have to 'buy down' the currently scheduled tariff rate of 30% on the bloc of 27 member states. The U.S. and EU seemed close to a deal earlier this month, but Trump instead threatened a 30% tariff rate. Trump's original deadline has passed, delayed until at least Friday. Without a deal, the EU says it is prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes. If Trump eventually makes good on his threat of tariffs against Europe, it could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the United States. Trump recently said he thought the odds of reaching a framework with Japan was 25%, but the allies announced an agreement this past week. His focus on trade has followed him to Scotland. On Saturday, he posted on his Truth Social platform that he would block any trade deals between the U.S. and Cambodia and Thailand because of their violent clashes along long-disputed border areas. Trump wrote that he spoke with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Phumtham Wechayachai, the acting prime minister of Thailand, to call for a ceasefire. Both countries, Trump said, want to 'get back to the 'Trading Table' with the United States, which we think is inappropriate to do until such time as the fighting STOPS. … When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!' The U.S. and Britain, meanwhile, announced a trade framework in May and a larger agreement last month during the Group of Seven meeting in Canada. Trump says that deal is concluded and that he and Starmer will discuss other matters, though the White House has suggested it still needs some polishing.
