Impending trade war
Customs dispute: Trump speaks of the Leyen
Can the trade conflict between the USA and the EU be defused until this Wednesday? If necessary, Brussels wants to negotiate until the last minute.
The EU relies on a fundamental agreement on the customs dispute with the United States until this Wednesday. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday with US President Donald Trump on the phone on the current state of negotiation, said a spokesman on Monday in Brussels. The talks went well, especially in the past week considerable progress in the direction of a fundamental agreement was made. One is now at the “beginning of the final phase”.
The speaker did not want to provide any details of the conversation between Trump and the Leyen. He only said that there was a good exchange and it was further determined to find an agreement and avoid harmful tariffs. The talks continued on the technical and political level.
Trump threatens new tariffs
In the event that there should be no understanding, Trump has threatened further new tariffs on imports from the EU. In the negotiations, he calls for concessions to reduce the US trade deficit with the EU and to eliminate alleged injustices.
When new US tariffs could come into force was no longer very clear. The EU had previously assumed this Wednesday, but most recently representatives of the US government also mentioned August 1st. In this scenario, the negotiations could possibly be continued beyond Wednesday.
The conversations are also considered complicated because, according to the EU, Trump’s customs policy not only eliminates alleged trading weights, but should also generate income for tax relief. The EU sees the measures fundamentally incompatible with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and wants to impose against tariffs immediately if the United States should introduce additional tariffs after the possible failure of the talks.
Relief for car industry in sight?
According to information from the German Press Agency from EU circles, a possible deal could include that the United States can basically maintain an already introduced new basic customs. However, special rules for individual industries such as the auto industry as well as the pharmaceutical, chemical and steel and aluminum industry would have to be agreed.
On the import of cars and car parts, Trump has already had a particularly high extracute in the amount of 25 percent, even 50 percent of steel and aluminum.
dpa
Source: Stern
