Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – EU trade ministers are holding urgent talks this morning after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on the 27-member bloc, despite previous hopes of promising discussions with the US administration on avoiding such measures.
The ministers will convene in the Belgian capital for the first day of a two-day Foreign Affairs Council, focusing on trade discussions with the US and China.
The European Union announced on Sunday that it would prolong its suspension of retaliatory U.S. tariffs until early August and persist in seeking a negotiated resolution. Meanwhile, the Trump administration in the U.S. continued to push for additional concessions from trading partners.
On Saturday, Trump announced he will implement a 30% tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico starting August 1. This follows similar warnings to other countries, giving them less than three weeks to negotiate framework deals that might reduce the proposed tariff rate.
Why does Šefčovič call the tariff ‘effectively prohibitive’?
The EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, arrived for talks with EU foreign and trade ministers and said: “Let’s be honest, the idea of 30% tariff rate is effectively prohibitive to the mutual trade.”
He also stated that such tariffs would make it “almost impossible to continue trading as we are used to,” with supply chains on both sides of the Atlantic “heavily affected” by the change.
Šefčovič expressed the bloc cited Trump’s letter with “regret and disappointment,” but vowed to engage further with his US counterparts on Monday to try to find a way out of this situation, stating he “cannot imagine walking away without genuing effort.”
How did von der Leyen react to tariffs?
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen quickly reacted by mentioning the bloc’s
“commitment to dialogue, stability, and a constructive transatlantic partnership.”
“We have always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution. This remains the case, and we will use the time that we have now till the 1st of August,”
He stated during a press conference on Sunday.
“We’ve prepared for this, and we can respond with countermeasures if necessary.”
Von der Leyen mentioned that the EU will pause its retaliatory tariffs on US goods, which were set to start on Monday, in an effort to negotiate a trade agreement with the Trump administration by month’s end.
