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EU warns that its trade with the US could be effectively wiped out if Trump follows through on his threat.
The European Union has warned that its trade with the United States could be effectively wiped out if Washington makes good on its threat to slap a 30% tariff on goods imported from the bloc.
A tariff of “30%, or anything above 30%… has more or less the same effect. So, practically it prohibits the trade,” Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s trade commissioner, said as he arrived ahead of an EU ministerial meeting in Brussels on Monday.
The EU is said to be seeking a preliminary agreement with the US that would allow it to lock in a 10% tariff rate beyond an August 1 deadline.
Sefcovic said it will “be almost impossible” for the bloc to continue its current level of trade with America if that new tariff rate is implemented on August 1 – the date stipulated by US President Donald Trump in his letter to the EU on Saturday.
“If (the tariff) stays 30 (percent) plus, simply trading as we know it will not continue, with huge negative effects on both sides of the Atlantic,” he added. “I will definitely do everything I can to prevent this super-negative scenario.”
Trump on Monday said his administration is open to negotiating trade with the EU, striking a softer tone on tariffs just days after he announced a 30% duty on the bloc.
“They would like to do a different kind of a deal, and we’re always open to talk,” Trump said during an event at the White House with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO. “We are open to talk, including to Europe.”
