Trump Tariffs

Global markets were buoyed on Monday morning by expectations of another Fed rate cut and growing optimism that the US and China are moving closer to a trade deal, following comments from President Donald Trump.

The optimism wiped out gains in safe-haven assets such as gold futures and boosted stock exchanges across the globe.

Yet, leading European benchmark indexes opened mostly flat, except for Milan’s FTSE MIB, which was up by 0.61%. Madrid IBEX 35 also gained 0.37% by around 11:00 CEST.

At the same time, European benchmark STOXX 600, as well as the FTSE 100 in London, remained nearly flat. The DAX in Frankfurt gained 0.15% while Paris’ CAC 40 lost less than 0.1%. This came after credit rating agency Moody’s changed France’s outlook from stable to negative on Friday.

Investors in Europe are closely watching for signs of economic health, with one of the strongest indicators — the first reading of the eurozone’s third-quarter GDP — due on Thursday.

On the same day, the European Central Bank (ECB) is scheduled to hold its monetary policy meeting. Given that inflation in the bloc has remained around the bank’s 2% target, the ECB is expected to hold interest rates steady this week for its third straight meeting. The key deposit rate has been at 2% since June.

US-China relations

Across the globe on Monday, US futures were mostly up in pre-market trading. This came as Asian shares rallied too, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 topping 50,000 for the first time.

Later this week, the US President has a scheduled meeting with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (known as APEC), to discuss the trade deal between the world’s two strongest economies.

US and Chinese officials confirmed on Sunday that they had reached an initial consensus for Trump and President Xi Jinping to finalise during a meeting later in the week.

“I have a lot of respect for President Xi,” Trump told reporters after visiting Malaysia for a summit of Southeast Asian nations, where he reached preliminary trade agreements with Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

“I think we’re going to come away with a deal,” Trump said.

And investors see it as a strong signal. According to Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management: “This isn’t just photo-op diplomacy. Behind the showmanship, Washington and Beijing’s top trade lieutenants have quietly mapped out a framework that might, just might, keep the world’s two largest economies from tearing up the field again.”

The enthusiasm brought about a shift in risk-taking among investors, demonstrated by a fall in gold futures. The safe-haven asset’s continuous contract fell by almost 2% on Monday morning, as an ounce was priced at $4,055.50.

The euro and Japanese yen remained flat against the US dollar. One euro was traded at $1.1638, while the greenback cost ¥152.8070. The British pound climbed 0.26% against the US dollar, and the rate was at $1.3345.

Crude oil prices fell after European markets opened, with both benchmarks trading nearly 1% lower. The US benchmark WTI crude’s price was $61.06 a barrel, and Brent was at $65.47.

In other dealings, leading cryptocurrencies were up. CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index (XBX) gained 4.86% and climbed to $115,395.34. Ethereum cost $4,171.84, up by 4.82% on Monday morning in Europe.

Another Fed rate cut on the cards, coupled with Big Tech reports

Wall Street hit record highs on Friday, after lower-than-expected inflation numbers from the US fuelled further hope that the Federal Reserve is about to cut interest rates further this Wednesday.

The data on inflation was encouraging because it could mean less pain for lower- and middle-income households struggling with still-high increases in prices. Even more importantly for Wall Street, it could also clear the way for the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates in hopes of giving a boost to the slowing job market.

The Fed just cut its main interest rate last month for the first time this year, but it’s been hesitant to promise more relief because lower rates can make inflation worse, beyond boosting the economy and prices for investments.

Meanwhile, a flood of big tech companies’ earnings is on its way this week, with Microsoft, Meta and Google-parent Alphabet reporting on Wednesday. Apple and Amazon’s numbers are due to be released on Thursday.

Better-than-expected profits could fuel hopes for steady growth in the US. Information is scarce about the current state of the world’s biggest economy due to the prolonged government shutdown.

Published on
16/10/2025 – 11:19 GMT+2

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In the global trade storm unleashed since US President Donald Trump’s return to power, Italian pasta producers are feeling very much alone — while their case is a special one.

On 4 September, the US Department of Commerce announced preliminary tariffs of 91.74% on 13 pasta brands.

If upheld, the tariffs would take effect in January 2026, delivering a significant blow to Italy, which exported nearly €700 million worth of pasta to the United States in 2024.

Admittedly, the case is not new. It originated in 1996, when US pasta producers accused Italian manufacturers of dumping — selling their products in the American market at prices lower than those in Italy.

Since then, Italian producers have been regularly subject to tariffs, but never of the magnitude now decided by the Trump administration.

Combined with the 15% duties that now apply to EU imports into the US, the total tariff burden would reach 106.74% if implemented. The pasta makers say this is brutal.

“It’s unfair, it’s a protectionist action of the US against Italian pasta,” Margherita Mastromauro, president of Unione Italiana Food, the largest association of food producers in Italy, told Euronews.

“We need help, because a large part of our companies are involved. With a duty so high, it means that all these companies will not export until the new review will be done.”

The investigation concerned the period between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024, Italian producers hope the review of the year 2025 will bring them some relief. But for now, the future remains uncertain.

Can the fight become political?

The companies have been scrambling to get these tariffs lifted since September.

Two of them, Garofalo and La Molisana, have taken legal action against the decision.

The Italian government and the European Commission have begun to get involved. However, room for manoeuvre remains limited in what is, according to the president of Unione Italiana Food, more a “legal” than a “political” matter.

The Italian Foreign Ministry has said the duties were “disproportionate” and has joined the case as an “interested party” to weigh in favour of this key sector of Italy’s economy.

On its side, the Commission told Euronews that the issue could be raised within the framework of the new dialogue initiated with the Trump administration on tariffs, since the agreement reached in July ended weeks of discord between the two sides of the Atlantic.

But an EU official also conceded that, unlike the unilateral tariffs imposed on other European products — which violate rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) — the US anti-dumping action against pasta appears to be done traditionally, as a trade defence mechanism allowed by the WTO, which regulates international trade between its member countries.

“We are closely monitoring the case, and if there are flaws in the investigation, we will question it and we will raise the issue with the WTO,” the official told Euronews.

If that were the case, it could lead to retaliatory measures from the EU.

Socialist Italian MEP Brando Benifei, who leads the parliamentary delegation for relations with the US, condemned the US action that he considers “clearly discriminatory”.

“This has to be solved and we urge the Commission to act through,” Benifei told Euronews.

Published on
29/09/2025 – 16:54 GMT+2

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The sword of Damocles hanging for several months over the global film industry located outside the US appears to have fallen: US president Donald Trump announced on Monday that he wants to impose a 100% tax on films made abroad.

“Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby.’ California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit!” Trump wrote on his social media Truth Social, adding: “Therefore, in order to solve this long time, never ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DJT.”

In May 2024, Trump authorised the US Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative to slap a 100% tariff on all movies not produced in the US.

Representatives of the EU film industry who spoke to Euronews feared at the time that they might be overlooked by the EU in its trade negotiations with the US.

Since then, a trade agreement concluded in July made no mention of the film industry – a service sector not covered by blanket tariffs of 15% that were slapped on all US-bound EU goods.

The EU film industry faces criticism from major American streaming platforms which claim EU rules are too protective of the interests of the European industry.

The Motion Picture Association (MPA), which represents US film, television, and streaming industries, has its sights set on the EU legislation imposing quotas requiring video on demand services operating in the EU to reserve 30% of their catalogue for European work and obligations to invest in European works made by EU member states. They had written to the Trump administration in March 2024 to defend their cause.

In 2023, 4.8 million European movies were screened in the US, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory.

The European Commission has been approached for comment.

Published on 15/09/2025 – 15:34 GMT+2
•Updated
15:53

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A French liberal MEP has gathered signatures from 20 other lawmakers for a letter seen by Euronews calling on the European Commission to review its commitment made under the EU-US trade agreement to purchase US energy.

In the document— soon to be sent to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, and Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen—the MEPs led by Christophe Grudler of Renew call on the EU executive to reconsider its pledge to buy $750 billion worth of US energy products over the next three years.

These products include liquefied natural gas (LNG), oil, nuclear fuels, and small modular reactors (SMRs). The signatories argue the deal will undermine the EU’s climate goals, industrial competitiveness, and strategic sovereignty.

“Increasing LNG imports from US shale gas directly undermines our climate agenda and our methane emissions regulation,” the letter says, adding: “LNG is highly polluting when liquefied, shipped across the Atlantic and regasified. Such dependence is a climate time-bomb.”

The initiative was launched by Christophe Grudler, a French MEP from the liberal Renew group.

The letter also warns that beyond energy concerns, the deal risks exposing the EU to “political blackmail”, the US demanding changes to EU climate policies, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, under which the bloc will apply levies on the carbon footprint of foreign imports from 1 January 2026.

The energy purchase commitment forms part of the EU-US agreement reached over the summer.

Some MEPs view the arrangement as deeply unbalanced, given that the US continues to impose 15% tariffs on EU goods, while the EU has agreed to make major investments in the US, including in the energy and defence sectors.

‘Economic imbalance’

In their letter to the Commission, MEPs also slam what they describe as the “economic imbalance” created by the pledge to purchase $250 billion’s worth of energy over three years. 

The letter describes this figure as “astronomical” adding: “To put this in perspective, the entire Competitiveness Fund proposed in the MFF amounts to €362 billion over seven years. How can we ask European companies to massively buy from the US while urging them to strengthen our competitiveness at home?”

The inclusion of US small modular reactors in the deal has also raised concerns among MEPs.

“At a time when the EU is building its own SMR supply chain, opening the door to US competitors is total nonsense.”

They further stress that commercial decisions “should remain the prerogative of companies, not be preempted by political pledges.”

Published on
03/09/2025 – 8:00 GMT+2

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MEPs are set to complain widely about the EU-US trade agreement when they confront Commission trade chief and agreement negotiator Sabine Weyand during a Parliamentary hearing on the deal on Wednesday.  

“While clearly we understand that the EU has chosen stability, diplomacy and to keep a cool-minded approach, however this cannot translate into the acceptance of an unfair and asymmetric trade relation with our American friends and partners,” Italian MEP Brando Benifei.

“As it is now, it is not acceptable,” Benifei told Euronews, speaking on behalf of his Socialists & Democrats group.

Last week the Commission proposed reducing tariffs on most US industrial goods, as well as less sensitive agricultural products, to 0%, as it began implementing the agreement reached with the US at the end of August. At the same time, the agreement provides that the EU will pay a 15% tariff on its exports to the US.

The Commission’s legislative proposal must now navigate its way through the Parliament and the EU Council for approval.

The Greens are also speaking out against an unbalanced agreement and rejecting the Commission’s argument that it will ensure stable trade relations with the US.

“The deal has major disadvantages for the EU,” German Green MEP Anna Cavazzini said, adding: “The only ‘gain’ that the Commission is selling us is stability. However, Trump’s incessant demands and new tariff threats are turning this process into a waste of time.”

Just after the agreement was concluded, US President Donald Trump threatened countries with digital legislation — like the EU — with tariffs, accusing them of directly targeting Big Tech.

According to the German MEP, the proposal to reduce EU tariffs on US imports will clearly “not have a smooth sailing through the European Parliament.”

The agreement, which is still under discussion within the Parliament’s largest group, the centre-right EPP, has nonetheless failed to win the full support of some of its individual members within the parliamentary committee on trade.

“Capitulation”

“This is an outright capitulation — we’re committing to colossal sums for investments and pledges to purchase billions worth of chips and military equipment, while granting the US 0% tariffs,” French MEP Celine Imart (EPP) said, “all this for the reindustrialisation of the US !”

Swedish MEP Jörgen Warborn, who coordinates the work of the EPP within the trade committee, is more cautious.

“It is hard to put yourself in the situation of the negotiators of the Commission,” he told Euronews, adding: “It is good that we have a framework agreement, because hopefully this can give us more stability. But at the same time, I don’t see the deal as balanced as I would have hoped it to be.”

Within Renew, the liberal group at the Parliament, some MEPs are also angry. The treatment granted to US agricultural products — benefiting from 0% tariffs or favourable quotas for certain items — is not going down well.

“I’m outraged by the whole situation. Yes, of course, there are the US’s promises when it comes to defence, but this agreement truly exposes our total dependence, which forces us to sign just about anything,” Belgian MEP Benoit Cassart (Renew), who is also a farmer, said, adding: “I disagree with those who think the EU has ‘won’ just because things didn’t turn out worse. If that’s the logic, then next time the US will start at 50% and we’ll end up with 40% tariffs on all our exports.”

French MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, who coordinates Renew in the committee, considers too that “there is a widespread feeling that we [the EU] failed to put any real leverage on the table.”

Published on
02/09/2025 – 13:52 GMT+2

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Gold jumped to a record $3,508.50 (€3,015.08) an ounce on Tuesday, fuelled by expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut and mounting uncertainty for investors.

The precious metal is seen as a haven for investors, with demand for it surging when trust in the stability of paper currencies or financial markets dips.

Earlier this year, gold prices surged when US President Donald Trump announced a raft of controversial tariffs against other countries.

Gold’s record-high value underscores deep unease over the global outlook and questions about the Fed’s independence as US President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on policymakers.

Dollar is no longer the ‘gold standard’

The rise in gold prices has come as part of a multiyear rally for precious metals.

Central banks from Asia to the Middle East have been accelerating their purchases for the fourth year in a row, adding a powerful tailwind to prices, with predictions being that at least 1,000 metric tonnes of gold will be purchased by governments for their gold reserves.

The move reveals a decreasing reliance on the US dollar at a time when Washington’s fiscal trajectory and political battles are clouding its standing as the world’s reserve currency.

A survey of 73 central banks conducted by the World Gold Council revealed that 95% of them are expected to increase their gold holdings over the next 12 months, while nearly three-quarters of them are anticipated to shrink their dollar reserves.

China, who is still locked in negotiations with the US over a more favourable trade deal, has been accumulating gold on a monthly basis, recording its ninth straight month of purchases in July.

De-dollarisation will hurt the world’s most reliable currency

For much of modern history, most national currencies were tied directly to gold — namely, governments guaranteed that paper money could be exchanged for a fixed weight of gold they had stored in their reserves.

Everyday transactions were carried out with paper money because it was far simpler than calculating gold values or carrying bullion, while governments backed those notes with gold held securely in their vaults.

After World War II, dozens of Allied nations gathered in Bretton Woods in New Hampshire to host the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference.

They decided to create the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and established a system where the US dollar was pegged to gold at $35 an ounce.

In other words, one dollar represented 1/35th of an ounce. At the time, this peg gave the dollar unmatched credibility because the US then held most of the world’s gold reserves.

It provided stability for global trade and investment for about 27 years, until the US abandoned the gold peg in 1971, collapsing the Bretton Woods system.

Ghosts of Bretton Woods

Bretton Woods collapsed in 1971 when the US deficit and inflation drained gold reserves, making the $35 peg unsustainable.

President Richard Nixon ended dollar convertibility at the time, forcing currencies to float freely.

Once currencies began floating after Bretton Woods, foreign exchange or Forex markets became the arena where their values were set.

Instead of governments guaranteeing fixed rates, traders, banks and central banks now buy and sell currencies against one another, with prices at times shifting by the second.

Now, US policies are once again influencing the gold-buying habits of central banks, and it is particularly symbolic that gold has surged past $3,500 an ounce — an increase of more than 10,000% from the $35 peg set under Bretton Woods after World War II.

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The EU Commission made its opening move in implementing the trade agreement reached on August 21 with the United States, but the legislative proposal for tariff reductions on a wide range of US industrial and agricultural products will face a tricky path through the European Parliament which will start considering the measure next week.

This legislative move should offer immediate relief to the EU automotive sector, as the US committed to retroactively lower its 27.5% tariffs on EU cars to 15% from 1 August, once the Commission proposed the legislation. 

Among the concessions granted to the US, the Commission’s proposal provides for reducing tariffs to 0% on the vast majority of US industrial products – ranging from machinery to pharmaceutical products, some chemicals, plastics and fertilizers – for which the EU aims to break its dependence on Russia. The proposal also targets some agri-products, such as fruits, juices and certain seeds.

“This is not costly for us,” a senior EU official said, pointing out that existing tariffs levied by the bloc on these products are very low.

The Commission has also declared privileged access to its market for certain agricultural products, whose tariffs will be reduced — such as certain vegetables, fruits and grape juices.

Tariff-rate quotas are also planned for 20 product groups, including pork (25,000 tonnes), dairy products (10,000 tonnes), cheese (10,000 tonnes), and soybeans (400,000 tonnes), which will benefit from 0% tariffs below the set thresholds.

Despite a trade agreement widely seen as heavily tilted in favour of the US — with the EU facing 15% tariffs under the deal — Brussels foresees the possibility of suspending these tariff advantages on US products if the US fails to implement the 21 August agreement, or if a sudden surge in US imports on the European market poses serious risks to EU industry.

The legislative proposal needs the buy-in of the European co-legislator, the European Parliament and the EU Council, which represents the member states.

MEPs responsible for monitoring trade issues will meet for what promises to be a heated session on 3 September, with some having criticised the deal as unbalanced. Sabine Weyand, Director-General of DG Trade and one of the chief negotiators, will attend to answer their questions.

“Politically, some MEPs saw the conclusion of the agreement as a humiliation and a surrender,” French liberal MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne told Euronews, adding: “Especially since we were promised predictability — yet Trump is already threatening tariffs on countries implementing digital legislation. The Commission is clearly uncomfortable.”

On top of the proposal on tariffs reduction, the MEPs are waiting for a second legislative proposal on the whole deal.

“We need to understand the agreement much better before we can be decisive and say yes or no,” Swedish MEP Jörgen Warborn (EPP) told Euronews, “I’m myself concerned because I have not yet understood whether the deal was compatible with WTO rules.”

According to WTO rules, any country that grants a preferential tariff to one country must extend those terms to others.

“There is a lot of turbulence when it comes to trade at these times. We need a rule-based space and not that the EU is part of breaking WTO rules,” Warborn added.

Within the S&D group, some are betting on the continuation of the negotiations to improve the deal.

“The deal is quite unbalanced and we need to see real effort from the EU Commission to obtain more exemptions and a clear path for an agreement on steel and aluminium,” a lawmaker from S&D said, adding: “Otherwise we should go back to the possible countermeasures.”

The deal published on August 21 does not address the aluminium and steel sectors, which remain subject to tariffs of up to 50%.

Published on
28/08/2025 – 7:45 GMT+2

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The EU should speed negotiation of a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system with the US to avoid existing exorbitant tariffs of 50% on steel and aluminium, the director general of the European Steel Association, EUROFER, has told Euronews adding that such a deal could also help with cooperation on Chinese overcapacities in the sector.

Such TRQ systems enable specific quantities of steel and aluminium to be imported at a lower or zero tariff rate, with any additional amount subject to a much higher tariff rate.

“Tariff-rate quotas are the only opening we have with the US,” Axel Eggert told Euronews, adding: “They are not perfect, but at least we still can export to the US, whereas now it’s completely different.”

The tariff-rate quota system for steel and aluminium was introduced under the Biden administration to replace the 25% tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminium imposed by the first Trump administration. It allowed up to 3.3 million tons of EU steel and 384,000 tons of aluminium into the US tariff-free, with the tariffs applying to any further amounts. However, since his return to office, US President Donald Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium, which were raised to 50% in June and extended on 19 August to some 400 steel derivatives.

After weeks of tariff disputes targeting all EU industrial products—not just steel and aluminium—the US and the EU reached an agreement setting tariffs on EU goods at 15%, with the notable exception of steel and aluminium.

However, the joint statement does state that the parties “intend to consider the possibility to cooperate on ring-fencing their respective domestic markets from overcapacity, while ensuring secure supply chains between each other, including through tariff-rate quota solutions.”

“We would have hoped that there was a clear obligation for the US to keep the tariff-rate quota which we had before,” Eggert said. “That was our objective and that was also the Commission’s objective, but the Commission simply didn’t get it.”

EUROFER’s boss also said that the US and EU can make common cause in fighting Chinese overcapacities in the steel sector.

According to OECD figures, there was a global overcapacity of steel of 600 million tons last year, and by next year there should be overcapacities of 720 million tonnes.

“China is subsidising its steel industry,” Eggert said, pointing out that the Asian giant has an excess capacity of more than 500 million tons.

When Trump imposed 25% tariffs on global steel and aluminium in March, it was swallowed by cheap Chinese products, he added, which explains why the US tariffs were then raised to 50%.

The issue of overcapacity was an integral part of the negotiations in recent months between the US and the EU, with the Commission pushing for cooperation between the two sides.

“If you have the two biggest markets in the world, the US and the EU, then you have such market power that you don’t let in any steam from companies which produce overcapacity,” Eggert predicts. “Then of course they have to reduce the overcapacities.”

In 2021, the Biden administration and the EU Commission started negotiating an agreement — the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminium (GASSA) — to fight overcapacities and promote lower-carbon production in the steel and aluminium sectors. But the negotiation was interrupted after Trump returned to power.

“There is a possibility [to bring it back], because the US administration has worked this out in great detail already,” Eggert said, pointing out that one sticking point which remained was the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which imposes a fee on some polluting goods imported into the EU, which the US opposes.

By&nbspEuronews&nbspwith&nbspAP

Published on 13/08/2025 – 12:38 GMT+2
•Updated
12:54

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Shares charged higher in Europe and Asia on Wednesday after US stocks hit new records when data that showed inflation across the United States improved slightly last month.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added to its record set a day earlier.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.

A recent rally in share prices has been driven partly by relief over an extended truce in President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, and partly by persisting hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Those were reinforced by a moderation in the consumer price index in July.

Germany’s DAX rose 0.8% to 24,207.78 and the CAC 40 in Paris picked up 0.4% to 7,784.63. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher, to 9,157.26.

Asian markets

“Asia woke up in full risk-on mode, riding the coattails of a US session that looked like someone hit the ‘infinite bid’ button after CPI didn’t blow the inflation doors off,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

China and the US agreed to a 90 day extension, from 12 August, of their pause in drastically higher tariff rates on each others’ exports to allow more time for talks on a broad trade agreement. Although uncertainty over what the negotiations will yield remains, the truce has relieved pressure on companies and countries across Asia that rely heavily in supply chains routed through China.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 2.6% to 25,613.67, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.5% to 3,683.46.

In Japan, relief over the Trump administration’s confirmation that its exports will face a flat 15% US import duty has driven strong buying of computer chip-related companies and other exporters.

The Nikkei 225 gained 1.3% to 43,274.67.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.1% to 3,224.37. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.6% to 8,827.10.

Taiwan’s Taiex was up 0.9% and the Sensex in India gained 0.5%. In Bangkok, the SET climbed 1% after the Bank of Thailand cut its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.5%.

US markets

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 1.1% to top its all-time high set two weeks ago. It closed at 6,445.76.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.1% to 44,458.61, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.4% to set its own record of 21,681.90.

The better-than-expected report on inflation raised hopes the Federal Reserve will have the leeway to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September.

Tuesday’s report said US consumers paid prices for groceries, gasoline and other costs of living that were overall 2.7% higher in July than in the previous year. That’s the same inflation rate as June’s, and it was below the 2.8% that economists expected.

Lower rates would give a boost to investment prices and to the economy by making it cheaper for US households and businesses to borrow to buy houses, cars or equipment. President Donald Trump has angrily been calling for cuts to help the economy, often insulting the Fed’s chair personally while doing so.

The Fed has hesitated, worried that Trump’s tariffs could make inflation much worse.

The Fed will get one more report on inflation and another on the US job market, before its next meeting, which ends 17 September. The most recent jobs report was a stunner, coming in much weaker than economists expected.

Critics say the broad US stock market is looking expensive after its surge from a bottom in April. That’s putting pressure on companies to deliver continued growth in profit.

In other dealings early Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil dropped 26 cents to $62.91 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 20 cents to $65.92 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar fell to 147.24 Japanese yen from 147.84 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1727 from $1.1677.

Published on 08/08/2025 – 11:53 GMT+2
•Updated
11:58

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US gold futures hit a historic high on Friday after the Financial Times reported that the Trump administration had imposed tariffs on imports of one-kilo gold bars.

Futures traded on the Comex, the world’s largest gold futures market, were up 0.9% at $3,484.60 an ounce as of around 11am CEST. This came after the futures hit an all-time high of $3,534.10.

The FT said it had seen a letter from the US Customs Border Protection agency, dated 31 July, which stated that one-kilo and 100-ounce gold bars should be classified under a customs code subject to levies. Investors had previously expected these types of gold bars to be exempt from Trump’s tariffs.

In April, Washington had excluded metals like gold, silver, and platinum from broad US import duties, reducing the price of Comex futures as investors ruled out a supply squeeze.

Before this, traders had been buying cheaper foreign gold and bringing it into the US, capitalising on the price difference between US futures and other benchmarks.

So far this year, gold Comex futures have risen almost 34% as investors adapt to geopolitical uncertainty, viewing gold as a secure place to park their money.

In times of instability, gold is considered a safe-haven asset because its value is less volatile than other investments, even when currencies fall.

“Sustained by factors like its safe haven credentials and a weakening dollar in 2025 – this latest development will have gold bugs eyeing the $4,000 level,” said AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson on Friday, referring to the FT report.

“The news is more bad news for Switzerland after being hit by a shock 39% export tariff to the US, given it is one of the biggest precious metal hubs globally,” she added.

Gold is one of Switzerland’s most significant exports to the US, and the country sent around $61.5bn (€52.8bn) of gold to the US over the 12 months ending in June.

The tariff report comes as a fresh blow to Switzerland after the US administration announced a 39% levy on its exports last week.

Switzerland’s President Karin Keller-Sutter and other top officials travelled to Washington on Tuesday to try to lower the tariff rate, among the highest imposed by the Trump administration.

The new rate is over 2.5 times higher than the one on European Union goods exported to the US and nearly four times higher than the one on British exports.

It is also steeper than the 31% rate that Trump proposed for Swiss goods when he announced his so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs in early April.

So far, Switzerland’s powerful pharmaceutical industry, which has promised major investments in the US in recent months amid the tariff worries, is exempt from the 39% rate.

Published on
05/08/2025 – 17:10 GMT+2

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The European Commission said on Tuesday it was surprised by comments German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil in which he highlighted the EU’s weakness in the ongoing tariff talks, despite Germany having been fully briefed ahead of the agreement reached on July 27 by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump.

“It is most surprising to us,” Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said, adding: “Nothing has happened here in terms of the Commission’s approach, negotiation or outcome achieved without the clear signal received from our member states.”

Klingbeil said on Monday, ahead of his meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant in Washington DC, that EU representatives “have shown weakness” during trade negotiations with the US.

“Overall, as Europeans, we must become stronger,” Klingbeil insisted, “then we can also stand up to the US with more self-confidence. Not against the US, but in dialogue with the US.”

Germany “had been fully briefed on the details of the agreement at a political level”, Commission Deputy Spokesperson Arianna Podestà added on Tuesday.

Since the announcement of the EU-US tariff agreement on July 27, the Commission has maintained that the deal represents the least bad option, allowing the EU to avoid a further escalation in the transatlantic trade dispute.

However, the details of the agreement are still under negotiation, just days after a US Executive Order set tariffs at 15%. Germany, in particular, continues to see its automotive industry heavily impacted by 25% US tariffs — contrary to the political deal, which aimed to reduce them to 15%.

Negotiations also continue on which products may be eligible for exemptions.

“We fight for every product and every industry,” a senior EU official said, adding: “We’re really trying to get as many products into the list of exemptions.”

A joint EU-US statement is expected to be released soon, aiming to reinforce the political commitments made on both sides of the Atlantic.

Under the current framework, the US has agreed to apply a 15% tariff on EU goods, while the EU has committed to purchasing US energy and investing in the United States.

Published on
04/08/2025 – 18:23 GMT+2

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The European Commission will suspend on Tuesday a package of trade countermeasures targeting €93 billions’ worth of American goods which was scheduled to take effect on 7 August, as it continues to negotiate a joint statement formalising the agreement struck by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump on 27 July.

“The EU continues to work with the US to finalise a joint statement, as agreed on 27 July,” EU spokesperson Olof Gill said, adding: “With these objectives in mind, the Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend by six months the EU’s countermeasures against the US, which were due to enter into force on 7 August.”

In line with the agreement reached, the US reduced its tariff rate to 15% last Thursday.

Gill said the step gained the EU immediate tariff relief, “a first important foundation is laid for restoring clarity to EU companies exporting to the US”.

The trade dispute is not over

However the trade dispute between the EU and the US is not over, as both sides still need to negotiate certain points of the agreement that have led to differing interpretations.

 Furthermore, the US Executive Order of July 31 does not provide relief to the EU automotive industry as expected (it remains subject to 25% tariffs), nor does it exempt strategic sectors such as aircraft.

As negotiations continue, the Commission should postpone through urgency procedure the retaliation package it adopted against the US tariffs.

It consists in two lists of products that were worth respectively €21 billion and €72 billion and were merged on 24 July after EU member states adopted them, targeting US products such as soyabean, cars, aircraft and Bourbon Whiskey.

Published on
01/08/2025 – 15:53 GMT+2

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US President Donald Trump doesn’t appear willing to ease the pressure on German carmakers. The US executive order on reciprocal tariffs published just before 1 August stopped short of applying the 15% tariffs agreed by Trump and Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to US imports of EU vehicles.

Since 2 April, EU cars have been hit with 25% US tariffs under the section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act, which allows the US president to restrict imports of goods threatening US national security.

The deal concluded last Sunday with President Ursula von der Leyen was meant to apply the 15% tariffs to EU cars, and to exempt certain strategic products such as aircraft from tariffs, but neither proviso appears in the executive order.

The executive order imposes a blanket 15% tariff on EU goods to apply from 8 August. Goods already in transit before that date will enjoy the previous tariff rate of 10% until 5 October, the US order says. Any attempt to circumvent these tariffs will be penalized with a 40% duty on the goods concerned, the order adds.

Despite the apparent omissions from the order, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič welcomed “the first results of the EU–US deal”.

“This reinforces stability for businesses as well as trust in the transatlantic economy,” he said on X, adding: “EU exporters now benefit from a more competitive position.”

Šefčovič also said, however, that “the work continues”, referring to ongoing negotiations on a joint statement intended to formalise the political trade agreement reached on July 27.

Diverging narratives

The Commission and the US administration are struggling to agree on a joint text, and up to now have pushed diverging narratives on the deal.

Uncertainty remains over the fate of steel and aluminium, currently hit by 50% US tariffs, which, according to the Commission, are expected to soon be subject to lower tariff-rate quotas. Negotiations are also ongoing over a series of exemptions, as pressure mounts from the EU wine and spirits industry.

In a factsheet published on Monday, the US also claimed that the EU committed not to apply telecommunications network usage fees in an upcoming Digital Network Act, which is currently being disputed between EU telecom companies and US tech giants in Brussels.

On Thursday the Commission noted that a white paper on digital networks published in February 2024 assessed that imposing a network fee was “not a viable solution”. “Such an exemption would not apply to US company only,” a Commission spokesperson said.

Published on
31/07/2025 – 7:00 GMT+2

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A joint statement is set to follow the framework deal agreed by US President Donald Trump and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday in Scotland.

The statement should in theory come before 1 August, the date after which Trump had threatened to apply 30% blanket tariffs on EU imports if no trade deal was reached, though there is no clarity on when it will arrive.

With both sides still wrangling over the details, one thing is clear: it will not be legally binding. “That joint statement itself is not a legally binding document but it’s rather a roadmap,” EU Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said on Tuesday, describing the statement as “a series of political commitments”.

That might work in the EU’s favour, given the massive commitments it has made in terms of purchases and investments: €750 billion in US energy, €600 billion in investments and purchases of weapons. The EU lacks legal capacity to make such commitments anyway and they will broadly rest on the private sector.

The trade deal agreed between the US and Indonesia last week is cited as an example of how the statement might look. That agreement contains figures on tariffs applied by both signatories and purchase commitments, but it also includes a lengthy section detailing Indonesia’s commitments to ease non-tariff barriers.

Tariffs and non-tariff barriers

The EU/US joint statement might be expected to explicitly set out that 15% tariffs will apply to EU imports, as was agreed on 27 July by Trump and von der Leyen, but there is still no clarity on exemptions, which are still under negotiation, with the EU for example hoping to secure zero tariff rating on wines and spirits.

Regarding US imports to the EU, there should be a list of US products enjoying 0% EU tariffs. “We will publish that list in the context of the finalisation of the joint statement so that this is clear where exactly we are going,” an EU official said.

That will include non-sensitive agricultural products and fisheries products: nuts, processed fish, some dairy products and pet food, according to the official.

Some industrial products should also be covered as well as certain chemicals linked to fertilisers, “where we see the US as an alternative source of supply to Russia”, the EU official said.

It remains to be seen how the EU will navigate the issue of non-tariff barriers. The EU has remained adamant that there will be no question of revisiting digital or phytosanitary regulations — but the US continues to sledge those rules as discriminatory.

An EU official said the US administration will issue executive orders for a number of countries clarifying new tariffs levels, and there may be an order for the EU.

Published on
30/07/2025 – 18:23 GMT+2

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French President Emmanuel Macron has called on the EU Commission to rebalance EU’s trade relationship with the US, particularly in the services sector, just days after a deal was reached between EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump.

“To be free, one must be feared. We haven’t been feared enough,” Macron said during a meeting of the French council of ministers, French media reported, calling for “relentless efforts to rebalance trade, particularly in the services sector.”

“This is not the end of the story, and we will not stop here,” the French president added, as the EU Commission is still negotiating exemptions to the 15% US tariffs on EU imports agreed on 27 July.

Since the beginning of the tariff war with the US, France has consistently favoured a hardline approach, brandishing the threat of the anti-coercion instrument — an EU tool that allows foreign companies to be denied access to public procurement, licenses, or intellectual property rights.

The tool would enable the EU to target US services, where the bloc runs a trade deficit with the US, unlike in goods.

Countermeasures

The EU has also adopted a package of countermeasures worth €95 billion targeting US products, but these were suspended until 4 August. The Commission is now awaiting a US executive order confirming that a 15% blanket tariff will apply to imports of EU goods as of 1 August.

“Of course the measures are there,” an EU official said, adding: “They have been approved by the member states. So if there was a need, we could always bring them back on Tuesday [4 August]. But that is not the assumption from which we start this next phase in transatlantic relations.”

The French President acknowledged that negotiations with the US had been difficult, and welcomed exemptions secured for the aerospace sector, considered strategic for Paris. France also hopes that the Commission will manage to negotiate an exemption for wine and spirits, which represent France’s leading export market to the US.

“We are continuing to negotiate with the Americans so that, if possible, spirits, perhaps wine, and other sectors can be exempted. It’s a work in progress,” French Economy Minister Éric Lombard told French radio on Wednesday.

On top of aircraft, Von der Leyen on Sunday announced that zero-for-zero tariffs will apply to certain chemicals, generic drugs, semiconductor-making equipment, some agricultural products (but with the exclusion of all sensitive products like beef, rice, ethanol, sugar or poultry), some natural resources and critical raw materials.

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After weeks of negotiations, the EU and the US reached an agreement on Sunday in the tariff dispute that has split the two since mid-March: the EU will face a 15% tariff on its exports to the US, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced.

“We have stabilised on a single 15% tariff rate for the vast majority of EU exports. This rate applies across most sectors, including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals,” she said, adding “this 15% is a clear ceiling – no stacking, all-inclusive – so it gives much-needed clarity for our citizens and businesses.”

Cars, which have been subject to a 27.5% tariff for several months, will now face a 15% tariff. A modest victory for German manufacturers.

Von der Leyen also announced that zero-for-zero tariffs will apply to certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor-making equipment, some agricultural products (but with the exclusion of all sensitive products like beef, rice, ethanol, sugar or poultry), some natural resources and critical raw materials.

However, uncertainties remain regarding the details and the sectors covered by the 15% rate, the legal certainty of the deal reached on Sunday and the purchase and investment commitment of the EU.

1. No legally binding agreement yet

The agreement reached will not be legally binding for both parties for some time. When exactly remains uncertain. A joint statement is expected to be released by 1 August— the deadline set by US President Donald Trump when he threatened to impose a 30% tariff on the EU.

“It will be a relatively light joint statement” an EU official said, adding that the EU is also awaiting the adoption of an executive order by the US that would bring some certainty to what has been agreed. Until then, negotiations on exemptions to the 15% tariffs will continue.

“Given that we want to make sure that the US delivers on its parts quickly, we will also want to deliver quickly on our part,” the official said, adding: “We are currently looking into the exact legal basis together with Council and the European Parliament.” A bilateral international agreement between the EU and the US would take time, so other instruments might be considered by the Commission.

2. Which EU products are exempt?

Aircraft will be exempt from the 15% tariffs, meaning they will be sent to the US with no tariffs. The production lines in these sectors are too intertwined for the US to risk making their aircraft more expensive.

However, the EU will keep negotiating other exemptions, with wine and spirits high on its agenda. Since the beginning of the negotiation, EU industries have continuously warned about the consequences of a deal that would penalise them.

“We truly believe the trade of wine is of great benefit for both EU and US companies, and it must be included in the 0-for-0 tariff arrangement,” Marzia Varvaglione, president of the Comite europeen des entreprises de vin said in a statement on Sunday, adding: “It’s not just the EU side saying this—our US counterparts have also been strong advocates for protecting this vital exchange.”

3. Steel and aluminium: A quota system still to be negotiated

The US currently imposes 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium. This will stay until both sides agree on a quota system. The Commission remains confident of its leverage in the coming talks however. “I think that is where economics kick in and business interests kick in,” the same EU official said, adding that the bloc’s provision of speciality steel is something that “US manufacturing badly needs”.

But the European steel industry appeared rattled on Monday. “If a zero tariff on our traditional exports to the US is confirmed, we would be going in the right direction,” Axel Eggert, director general of the European Steel Association (EUROFER) said, but he added: “There is no clarity yet. As always, the devil is in the detail.”

The uncertainty is offset by a commitment of the EU and the US to jointly fight global overcapacities, mainly coming from China.

4. Energy: The EU’s purchase commitment will depend on its industry.

The EU committed to buy $750 billions’ worth of US energy over the next three years. That’s to say $250 billion annually directed towards US liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear industries. “We’ve been looking at our needs also in terms of the phasing out of energy imports from Russia,” the EU official said.

However the official conceded that there is no public commitment to delivering on this since the EU and its institutions will not be doing the actual buying. “We can help with aggregating demand and facilitating certain things, and we can look at where there are maybe bottlenecks in infrastructure,” the official said.

The EU also committed to purchasing US AI microchips on top of the $750 billion.

5. EU investment in the US will depend on business

EU companies will invest $600 billion in the US, according to the deal. But here again, there’s no public authority that will be monitoring this, as it is the case in the Japan-US deal reached on 22 July where investments are equity, loans and guarantees from state-run agencies.

However the Commission ensures it had detailed contacts and discussions with different business associations and companies in order to see what their investment intentions were.

“We have basically been aggregated what we know about investment intentions of private companies. And the way this will be expressed in the joint statement is that it is an intention,” another EU official said, adding: “So it is not something that the EU as a public authority can guarantee.”

Published on
24/07/2025 – 11:44 GMT+2

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The member states on Thursday approved the list of retaliatory tariffs proposed by the European Commission to counter US trade measures, with only Hungary voting against.

The list includes an initial package of measures adopted in early April and targets products including aircraft, cars and car parts, orange juice, poultry, soybeans, steel and aluminium, yachts.

Bourbon whiskey was also included in the list despite intense lobbying by France and Ireland which fear US retaliation on wine and spirits. EU Industries were also consulted before the Commission proposed the list to the member states.

The countermeasures will only enter into force if no deal is reached by the 1 August, the deadline set by US president Donald Trump from when he’s set to impose 30% tariffs on EU imports.

Anti-coercion instrument 

A qualified majority of member states also appears willing to trigger the anti-coercion instrument, which would enable the EU to hit US services if no deal is reached.

Germany was for a long time resistant to using this powerful bazooka, but has now joined France, which has long been a strong advocate of the anti-coercion instrument.

Following a dinner on Wednesday between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, a source from the Élysée stated the shared vision of both leaders on the ongoing negotiations between the EU and the US.

“They hoped for a satisfactory outcome to the discussions that would safeguard the EU’s interests,” the source said, adding “while simultaneously accelerating work on countermeasures — including the anti-coercion instrument — in coordination with the Commission, should an agreement not be reached.”

The US currently impose 50% on EU steel and aluminium, 25% on cars and 10% on all imports.

Published on
16/07/2025 – 10:18 GMT+2

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Supplier of chipmaking equipment ASML retracted its growth forecast for the coming year on Wednesday, sending shares down around 7% in morning trading in Amsterdam.

“The level of uncertainty is increasing, mostly due to macroeconomic and geopolitical considerations. And that includes, of course, tariffs,” said CEO Christophe Fouquet. “Therefore, while we still prepare for growth in 2026, we cannot confirm it at this stage.”

The warning came despite the fact that the Dutch firm saw sales and bookings rise above analysts’ expectations during the second quarter.

Sales rose 23% to €7.7 billion, while net bookings came in at €5.5bn. Net income was at €2.3bn.

For the third-quarter, ASML predicted net sales between €7.4bn and €7.9bn, falling short of estimates, and a gross margin between 50% and 52%.

The firm also forecast 15% revenue growth for the year ahead.

A boom in artificial intelligence is fuelling demand for ASML’s semiconductor-making machines, which are needed to power AI technologies.

Last week, chipmaker Nvidia — a firm that relies on ASML products — became the first company in the world to reach a market value of $4 trillion.

So far, the extent to which ASML will be affected by US tariffs and retaliatory duties is unclear. Semiconductors are currently exempt from Trump’s duties although it’s not yet known whether chipmaking machines will receive the same leniency.

Easing tensions between the US and China are also helping Nvidia, which in turn bodes well for ASML. On Tuesday, Nvidia said it would start selling its H20 AI chip in China again after the Trump administration relaxed export restrictions. The move is a U-turn for the government, which in April banned sales of the chip to China, linked to concerns that the technology could be used for military purposes.

ASML also faces restrictions on sending certain advanced products to China. There has been no suggestion that these measures, imposed by the Dutch government, will be lifted.

“ASML cites the macroeconomic environment and tariffs having an impact on the orders. More specifically, it is more likely uncertainty from China, memory capex uncertainty and the struggles at Intel and Samsung that are more likely to be hampering things,” said Ben Barringer, global technology analyst at Quilter Cheviot.

Intel and Samsung, two ASML customers, are facing financial headwinds, with the latter reporting its first fall in profit in around two years last week.

Barringer continued: “Ultimately, this is a speed bump for what remains a high-quality company. It still has a big backlog so growth should still pull through”.

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The US is pitching the creation of a new advisory body for the Digital Markets Act (DMA) involving those companies subject to enforcement of the regulation a voice, in the context of negotiations over an EU-US trade deal, according to three sources familiar with the matter. 

The EU will never accept the idea however according to two of the sources.

On Saturday, Trump posted a new set of letters to his social media platform Truth Social, declaring 30% tariffs on the EU and Mexico starting 1 August, a move that could cause massive upheaval between the United States and two of its biggest trade partners.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen quickly responded by noting the bloc’s “commitment to dialogue, stability, and a constructive transatlantic partnership.”

On Sunday, she emphasised that reaching a negotiated solution remains the priority, but that the EU is ready to respond with countermeasures.

The DMA regulates the largest online platforms with a view to protecting the rights of consumers and curbing any abusive behaviour by dominant tech players. 

Under the rules, companies face fines of up to 10% of their global annual turnover for non-compliance. 

Peter Navarro, a senior Trump advisor, has openly accused the bloc of waging “lawfare” against US Big Tech through the DMA and its sister Digital Services Act (DSA) regulation. In response, the EU has said it will “not make any concessions on its digital and technology rules” as part of any trade negotiations with the US. 

The DMA already has an advisory board, which plays a consultative and strategic role in its implementation, supporting the Commission in oversight and enforcement.

The board is made up of independent experts and representatives from relevant national authorities and regulatory bodies, however, and is not supposed to be a body of representatives drawn from the enforced entities.

The sources did not expand on what form the advisory body touted by the US would take, beyond giving influence over the enforcement methods.

“The fact that the US proposed setting up an advisory board for the DMA, where those who might be affected would actually sit, that certainly won’t happen, and there will be no exceptions for US companies under the DMA,” one source said.

The Commission has repeatedly said that DMA probes are conducted strictly according to the regulation, which does not discriminate against companies on the basis of country of origin. But the fact that most of those under its scope are US tech giants means that the decisions are now seen through the lens of the brewing trade war.

On both sides of the Atlantic, EU digital legislation has become a red line in the negotiations over tariffs: the US considers the DMA and DSA – which covers illegal content online – as non-tariff barriers to their trade with the EU, while the EU refuses to amend these regulations, which were adopted in 2022. 

Sovereignty

Commission Vice-President Teresa Ribera told Euronews on 27 June that it is impossible to for the EU to backtrack on its digital rules. 

“We are going to defend our sovereignty. We will defend the way we implement our rules, we will defend a well functioning market and we will not allow anyone to tell us what to do,” she said.

Without changing the rules, the Commission could nonetheless finesse implementation of the DMA, according to Christophe Carugati, a Brussels-based tech consultant. Investigations and fines could become the exception in the DMA enforcement. 

“To calm the US, the idea could be to settle disputes formally or informally through dialogue. That will implicitly ‘pause’ the investigations,” he told Euronews.

Non-compliance investigations launched over the past year under the DMA have resulted in relatively low fines compared to those imposed on Big Tech under the Commission’s previous mandate. Apple has received a €500 million penalty and Meta was fined €200 million, the former for preventing developers from steering consumers to alternative offers, the latter for its “Pay or Consent” advertising model. 

In April, EU officials said that the lower fines reflected the short duration of the violations since the DMA implementation started in 2023 but also the Commission’s current focus on achieving compliance rather than punishing breaches. 

Simplification

US tech giants could also seek to benefit from the Commission’s simplification agenda to secure some relief from regulatory enforcement. In May, Amazon, IBM, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI called on the Commission to keep its upcoming Code of Practice on General-Purpose AI (GPAI) “as simple as possible”, as reported.

EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen is currently carrying out a digital fitness check, which will result in an “omnibus” simplification package to be presented in December. 

She aims to identify reporting obligations in existing digital legislation that can be cut to ease pressure on enterprises, particularly SMEs.

The question remains whether that simplification package will also cover the DMA, DSA and the AI Act.

Virkkunen has always said that despite facing criticism from former Trump advisor and X-owner Elon Musk, the laws are fair and equitable.

 “Our rules are very fair, because they are the same rules for everybody who is operating and doing business in the European Union. So, we have the same rules for European companies, American companies, and Chinese companies,” Virkkunen told Euronews in April.

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EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič presented EU trade ministers gathered in Brussels for an extraordinary meeting on Monday a list of €72 billion worth of US products to be included in a retaliatory tariff drive, as US pressure ramped up over the weekend with the threat of 30% tariffs on EU imports starting on 1 August.

“We must be prepared for all outcomes, including if necessary, well-considered proportionate measures to restore balance in our transatlantic relationship,” Šefčovič said, adding: “Today the Commission is sharing with the member states the proposal for the second list of goods, accounting of some €72 billion worth of US Imports. They will now have a chance to discuss it.”

The list proposed by the Commission, which has been reduced from €72 billion to €95 billion after consultation of EU industries and member states, still has to be adopted formally by the member states. It targets a wide range of products including US aeroplanes and Bourbon whiskey.

On 12 July, after weeks of negotiations, US President Donald Trump published on Truth Social a letter sent to the Commission threatening to impose 30% tariffs on EU imports if no deal is reached by 1 August.

Last week, negotiations appeared to have entered the final stretch, with the EU having reluctantly agreed to a baseline tariff of 10% on its imports. Sector-specific exemptions were still needing to be negotiated, the EU having managed to secure 0% on aircraft and spirits and some US tariffs just above 10% on agri-products.

“We were very very close to an agreement in principle,” Danish foreign affairs minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen regretted.

The US currently imposes 50% on EU steel and aluminium, 25% on cars and 10% on all EU imports.

According to an EU diplomat, EU retaliation could also include export controls on aluminium scrap, which the US needs.

But while the EU is flexing its muscles, it continues to prioritise negotiation.

“We remain convinced that our transatlantic relationship deserves a negotiated solution, one that leads to renewed stability and cooperation,” Maroš Šefčovič said before announcing he had a call planned with his US counterparts on Monday late afternoon.

On 13 July, the Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a delay in the implementation of an initial retaliatory measure targeting €21 billion worth of American products, which had been suspended until 15 July.

According to the same EU diplomat, a meeting of EU ambassadors had originally decided to postpone it until the end of the year, but Trump’s new announcements have made these countermeasures more urgent. They have therefore been postponed until 1 August.

Anti-coercion instrument

Behind the show of unity displayed on Monday by member states, diplomats are however well aware that complications will arise once a deal with the US is on the table.

“Let’s be realistic we will all have different interpretations,” an official from a member states told Euronews, admitting that once a deal is reached some countries will push for strong retaliation while others will want to avoid escalation, depending on which of their strategic sectors is most hit by the US.

France continues to advocate a hard line toward the US, eager to put all the tools at the EU’s disposal on the table, including the use of the anti-coercion instrument — the “nuclear option” of EU trade defence, adopted in 2023.

“This pressure, deliberately applied by the US president in recent days and weeks, is straining our negotiating capacity and must lead us to show that Europe is a power,” French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said on arrival at the Council, adding: “Europe is a power when it knows how to demonstrate its ability to respond.”

“The US has escalation dominance,” a second EU diplomat told Euronews.

On Sunday Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen ruled out use of the anti-coercion instrument for the time being.

“The anti-coercion is created for extraordinary situations,” she said, adding: “We are not there yet.”

The tool would allow the EU to withdraw licences and intellectual property rights from foreign companies including US tech giants.