EU trade ministers plan countermeasures to Trump's 30% tariffs
發佈日期: 2025-07-15 20:04
TVB News
EU trade ministers are studying countermeasures to respond to what they call the "absolutely unacceptable" U.S. tariff threat.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened over the weekend to impose 30 percent tariffs on European goods from August 1st if no trade deal is reached.
The EU has so far held off on retaliatory measures to avoid an escalation in the trade war, while there remains a chance of negotiating an improved outcome.
EU ministers met in Brussels Monday following Trump's surprise announcement of hefty tariffs, which could have repercussions for governments, companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.
LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN, Danish Foreign Minister: "We do not want a trade war with the U.S. We want to avoid it and we had, I think many of us want to thank the commissioner for being very transparent in his negotiations with the U.S. team. The clear impression that we were very, very close in agreement in principle. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible due to this presidential letter, but it is still our major vision that we should reach an agreement. But we also want to send a clear signal that it must be a fair deal for everybody."
On Monday, many Italian newspapers splashed on the tariffs with La Stampa describing them as a "tsunami hitting businesses."
President of consultancy group Export USA said the tariff might be America's "trial number to see which number they may be able to land on.
LUCIO MIRANDA, President of Export USA: "There might be here another dynamic in place. If 10 percent is manageable, maybe 15 or 20 percent is also manageable. So let's, you know, use this 30 percent as a 'ballon d'essai' and let's see if we can land on 15 or 20."
Italian wines are popular in the U.S. but the president of the Union of Italian Wines Trade Association warned that the price in the U.S. will rise.
LAMBERTO FRESCOBALDI, Union of Italian Wines Trade Association President: "It is going to change dramatically because the same identical wine that now is sold, let's say at 20 dollars, is going probably go up to over 32 dollars."
Meanwhile, Mexicans also quickly weighed in to a letter from Trump announcing 30 percent tariffs to be imposed on Mexico.
This man says he thinks Trump is someone who lacks the capacity to look after his country, and aside from harming his country, he is harming other countries. The man says Mexico should be more firm.
This as the Trump administration has announced a duty of about 17 percent on fresh tomotoes from Mexico, which accounts for two-thirds of the tomatoes eaten in the U.S.
