Latest news with #import tariff
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Romania expects small growth hit from new US trade deal
Romania said on Monday a 15% U.S. import tariff on European goods would mean a small hit to central Europe's second-largest economy, while export-reliant Slovakia hailed the U.S. trade deal as a "good result".
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Al Jazeera
How European leaders are reacting to EU-US trade deal
The United States and the European Union have struck a wide-ranging trade deal, imposing a 15 percent import tariff on most EU goods, evading an all-out transatlantic trade war. The deal was hashed out on Sunday between US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland, before an August 1 deadline for the introduction of steep tariffs. Both Trump and von der Leyen lauded the deal as an important step, with the US leader hailing it as the 'biggest deal' ever made, and the EU chief stating it will bring much-needed 'stability' and 'predictability'. But what are European leaders saying about the deal with the EU's largest trading partner? Here are some reactions: 'The trade conditions will not be as good as before, and it is not our choice, but a balance must be found that stabilises the situation and that both sides can live with,' said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the agreement brings 'much-needed predictability to the global economy and Finnish companies'. 'Work must continue to dismantle trade barriers. Only free transatlantic trade benefits both sides the most,' he said. 'It is a sombre day when an alliance of free peoples, brought together to affirm their common values and to defend their common interests, resigns itself to submission,' said French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the agreement has 'succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-orientated German economy hard'. 'This applies in particular to the automotive industry, where the current tariffs of 27.5 percent will be almost halved to 15 percent.' A government spokesperson told the Reuters news agency that Berlin sees the need for further negotiations. 'It is certainly no secret that in the steel and aluminium sector … We see a need for further negotiations,' the spokesperson said during a news conference in Berlin. He added that details of the deal remained to be worked out, and that 'the EU Commission and the German government are now fully committed to this.' Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban slammed the deal. 'This is not an agreement … Donald Trump ate von der Leyen for breakfast, this is what happened, and we suspected this would happen as the US president is a heavyweight when it comes to negotiations, while Madame President is featherweight,' he said. Irish Trade Minister Simon Harris said the deal provides a 'measure of much-needed certainty for Irish, European and American businesses who together represent the most integrated trading relationship in the world'. 'While Ireland regrets that the baseline tariff of 15 percent is included in the agreement, it is important that we now have more certainty on the foundations for the EU-US trade relationship, which is essential for jobs, growth and investment,' he said. 'I consider it positive that there is an agreement, but if I don't see the details, I am not able to judge it in the best way,' said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Speaking at a summit in Ethiopia, she said a 'trade escalation between Europe and the United States would have had unpredictable and potentially devastating consequences'. Meloni – a Trump ally on many issues – had warned earlier this month against a 'trade war within the West'. In a statement, the Romanian government's press office said Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan 'salutes that a trade agreement was reached and … feels it is a good omen'. 'It eliminates present unclearness which caused disruptions and uncertainties in transatlantic trade relations,' it said. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he backed the deal but 'without any enthusiasm'. 'I value the constructive and negotiating attitude of the president of the European Commission. In any case, I support this trade agreement, but I do so without any enthusiasm,' he told a news conference. 'This agreement does not make anyone richer, but it may be the least bad alternative. What appears to be positive for Sweden, based on an initial assessment, is that the agreement creates some predictability,' said Swedish Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Italy's Meloni says it's a 'positive' trade deal was reached but needs to see details
ROME (Reuters) -Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday it is "positive" a trade deal has been reached between the European Union and the United States, adding, however, that she needs to see the details. Washington struck a framework trade deal with the EU imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods. "I consider it positive that there is an agreement, but if I don't see the details I am not able to judge it in the best way," Meloni told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting in Addis Ababa. Italy is one of the biggest European exporters to the U.S., with a trade surplus of more than 40 billion euros. The Italian government, led by a nationalist coalition, had urged its European partners to avoid a direct clash between the two sides of the Atlantic. In a statement, Meloni said that the agreement "ensures stability", adding that the 15% "is sustainable, especially if this percentage is not added to previous duties, as was originally planned." "We are ready to activate support measures at the national level, but we ask that they also be activated at the European level for sectors that will be particularly affected by US tariff measures," she added. The statement was also signed by the leaders of the other two coalition parties: Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini of the League. Solve the daily Crossword
SBS Australia
2 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
EU and US announce tariff deal to avoid spiralling trade war
The United States struck a framework trade deal with the European Union on Monday AEST, imposing a 15 per cent import tariff on most EU goods, but averting a spiralling battle between two allies which account for almost a third of global trade. The announcement came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled for talks with US President Donald Trump at his golf course in western Scotland to push a hard-fought deal over the line. "I think this is the biggest deal ever made," Trump told reporters after an hour-long meeting with von der Leyen, who said the 15 per cent tariff applied "across the board". "We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability," she said. The deal, which also includes US$600 billion ($914.9 billion) of EU investments in the United States and US$750 billion ($1.1 trillion) of EU purchases of US energy over Trump's second term, will indeed bring clarity for EU companies. Even so, the baseline 15 per cent tariff will be seen by many in Europe as a poor outcome compared with the initial European ambition of a zero-for-zero tariff deal, although it is better than the threatened 30 per cent rate. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal, saying in a statement that a trade conflict had been averted that would have hit Germany's export-driven economy and its large auto sector hard. But Bernd Lange, the German Social Democrat who chair's the trade committee of the European Parliament, said he was "quite critical" because the tariffs were imbalanced and the pledged $600 billion of investment would likely come at the expense of EU industry. The euro rose around 0.2 per cent per cent against the dollar, sterling and yen within an hour of the deal. The deal mirrors key parts of the framework agreement the United States clinched with Japan last week. Shipping containers and cargo ships seen in the port of Barcelona one of the biggest sea ports of Europe. Source: AAP / Davide Bonaldo / SOPA Images "We are agreeing that the tariff ... for automobiles and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15 per cent," Trump said. That rate will not, however, apply to steel and aluminium, for which a 50 per cent tariff will remain in place, although von der Leyen said it would be cut and replaced with a quota system. Von der Leyen said the rate also applied to semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, and there would be no tariffs from either side on aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. "We will keep working to add more products to this list," she said, adding that the situation on spirits was still to be established. Eric Winograd, chief economist at AllianceBernstein in New York, noted the similarity with Japan's US deal. "We will need to see how long the sides stick to the deal. From a market perspective, it is reassuring in the sense that having a deal is better than not having a deal," he said. Trump, who is seeking to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old US trade deficits, has so far reeled in agreements with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has failed to deliver on a promise of "90 deals in 90 days." He has periodically railed against the European Union, saying it was "formed to screw the United States" on trade. Arriving in Scotland, Trump said the EU wanted "to make a deal very badly" and said, as he met von der Leyen, that Europe had been "very unfair to the United States". His main bugbear is the US merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 reached $235 billion, according to US Census Bureau data. The EU points to the US surplus in services, which it says partially redresses the balance. Trump also talked on Sunday about the "hundreds of billions of dollars" that tariffs were bringing in. On 12 July, Trump threatened to apply a 30 per cent tariff on imports from the EU starting on 1 August, after weeks of negotiations with the major US trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. The EU had prepared countertariffs on 93 billion euros of US goods in the event there was no deal, and Trump had pressed ahead with 30 per cent tariffs. Some member states had also pushed for the bloc to use its most powerful trade weapon, the anti-coercion instrument, to target US services in the event of a no-deal.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Philippines president hails ‘significant achievement' after 19% tariff deal with Trump
Donald Trump announced that the US had reached a deal to levy a 19 per cent import tariff on the Philippines following what he described as a "beautiful visit" by president Ferdinand Marcos Jr to the White House. The tariff rate is just shy of the 20 per cent Mr Trump had threatened to impose on America's key Southeast Asian ally earlier this month but higher than the 17 per cent set when he first declared sweeping tariffs for dozens of countries in April. Mr Marcos Jr called the trade deal with the US a "significant achievement" but noted that some details were still to be worked out. The announcement of a loose framework of a deal comes as the two allies seek closer security and economic ties in the face of shifting geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region. 'It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal, whereby the Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO Tariffs. The Philippines will pay a 19 per cent Tariff," Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He called Mr Marcos Jr a "very good and tough negotiator'. Mr Marcos Jr, the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Mr Trump in his second term, told reporters at the start of his White House meeting that the US was his nation's 'strongest, closest, most reliable ally'. The Philippines is faced with China's assertive presence in the South China Sea where Manila and Beijing have clashed over the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal. Mr Trump said the "very big numbers" in the trade agreement would only grow larger. The US had a deficit of nearly $5bn (£3.7bn) with the Philippines last year on bilateral goods trade of $23.5bn (£17.3bn). The US president has upended global trade flows by levying tariffs on nearly every trading partner, with almost all nations slapped with a 10 per cent tariff in April and many facing steep additional levies from 1 August. Philippine officials had said Mr Marcos Jr intended to stress to Washington that Manila must become economically stronger if it was to serve as a truly robust US partner in the Indo-Pacific. Gregory Poling, a Southeast Asia expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Reuters it was too early to say much about the Philippines trade deal since no details had been released, as was the case with similar pacts with Indonesia and Vietnam. "At the end of the day, I don't think the Philippine government is sweating the final number so long as it keeps Philippine-made goods competitive with those of its neighbors, which this does," Mr Poling said. Mr Trump previously announced a 19 per cent tariff for Indonesia and 20 per cent for Vietnam.
