The EU has gone from the offensive of “hitting where Donald Trump hurts by considering her tariffs who damage not only the US economy, but especially to the Republican states, to bend her head. Brussels have been negotiating with the White House for three months – the last week in the hope of closing a principle of agreement – without having stopped receiving blows from Washington. First were the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, which then rose to 50%; then the so -called “reciprocal tariffs” of 20% – which in this case only partially entered into force – and also 25% to the vehicles. To that we must add the threats and swings of the US president, who when the EU expected an understanding surprised with a letter in which it announced some tariffs of 30%, which for the EU are “prohibitive” and would mean a “disruption” of trade between the two sides of the Atlantic.
Despite that pressure and Trump's disdain, the EU changed strategy when it showed intention to negotiate through a partial truce of 90 days. Of the blows, he went to the “good faith” and suspended the entry into force of the only counsets he had agreed: a response of 21,000 million euros in tariffs for US's punishment to the steel sector. To each Washington envy, the EU reaction has been practically nil beyond trusting everything to the negotiation. And now that Trump threatens with a true commercial war with tariffs of 30% as a pressure method for the community block, the response of the European Commission has been the same.
Basically in Brussels they are confident in reaching an agreement before August 1. It is what he wants or needs Germany to save his industry. Italy is also to accept anything in order to avoid an escalation of the commercial war.
The 27 insist that the priority must be to find a negotiated solution with the US, but differ in the strategy. France is pushing for the EU to raise the tone and give a sign of strength. “The situation since Saturday has to lead us to change the method and we have to be able to present in a concrete way, sometimes also in a very clear way, what is the capacity of the European Union to put countermeasures on the table, to counterp French, Laurent Saint-Martin, upon his arrival at the meeting with his counterparts in Brussels.
So the Emmanuel Macron government is committed to put on the table all the range of measures with which it could respond to a 30% tariff by the US. And that goes through the proportional countermeasures, in the form of tariffs, but also by measures against the 'big tech' or by the deployment of the so -called 'Bazuca', the anticoration instrument against commercial blackmail, which includes measures such as the restriction of imports or exports and even the prohibition that the companies of that country will access public tenders in the community block.
“We do not want any commercial war with the United States. It would be devastating not only for Americans, but also for Europe. So we do not want an escalation. On the other hand, we also need to show some muscle,” defended the Danish minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen: “We have to prepare for the countermeasures and we must be open to use all the tools we have.”
But not all countries are in that wavelength. “We are not in that stage,” said the Irish. Carlos Body has also spoken in similar terms in ensuring that there is room until August 1 to try to reach an agreement and will be later, if it is found that it is unfeasible, when measures have to be taken.
At the moment, the response that the EU is preparing tariffs for a value of 21,000 million euros – which are suspended and will automatically activate if there is no agreement in August – and a package in which it is being worked on that initially involved a blow of 95,000 million euros that has now been reduced to 72,000 million, and is still pending review by the Member States. “This does not exhaust our toolbox and all the tools remain on the table,” said the Commission of Commerce, Maros Sefcovic, without giving much more details. This same Monday intends to speak with its interlocutors of the Trump administration and travel again to Washington soon.
The Minister of Economy, Carlos Corpore, has assured after the meeting of the trade officials of the 27 that there is “Unit of Action and Support to the European Commission in the” first intention to continue looking for an agreement in the two weeks that remain to date to date “, but at the same time he has warned that they cannot be” naive “. in greater depth than the countermeasures that are already being worked on.
What has indicated is that the intention is that the two tariff packages in response to those of Trump were ready to enter into force in early August if an agreement is not achieved and 30% with which Trump has threatened. “The damage would be high,” the minister has admitted to “particularly harmful” damage of that figure, although he has insisted that “Spain has a lower direct exposure” than other European partners, although he has warned that “the indirect effect could end up supposing a significant impact.” Body considers that the proposal of a fund to compensate for the sectors affected by the tariffs “is taking shape” within the EU.
