7 hours agoEU offers Trump agreement “zero for zero” for industrial goods
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)The EU has offered the United States a fee scheme “zero for zero”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leenen said on Monday, seeking to avoid a face-to-face trade fight. “We have offered zero per zero fees for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trade partners. [...]
“We have offered zero per zero fees for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trade partners. Because Europe is always ready for a good deal. So we keep it on the table,” she said at a press conference along with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoe, Periscope.
The US and EU approached the removal of industrial tariffs a decade ago in their discussions on TTIP, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which was eventually canceled by Trump in its first term.
The removal of tariffs for industrial products such as cars and chemicals was not seen as controversial at the time, agricultural products and safety standards were a much hotter potato.
Von der Leyen's renewed offer comes after Trump last week imposed a 20 per cent fee on the EU and a host of other business partners, increasing US trade barriers to the highest level in more than a century.
Trump's trade struggle has caused panic to investors, with financial markets worldwide losing trillion dollars or euros in value. European shares suffered their biggest declines one day since the beginning of the Comvid pandemic on Monday.
Amid market riots, von der Leyen tried to create calm
“We are ready to negotiate with the US”, she said.
The EU sets the average rate of only 1.6 percent for non-bubble US products, on the basis of trade betraying. But it sets a higher fee of 10 percent for imported American vehicles, although the US is the only G7 country that still pays it, because TTIP was not finished.
By clarifying, EU Trade Commissioner Marcos Sefcovic said privately that the zero-zero deal could cover cars and all other industrial goods, such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, rubber and plastic machinery.
Von der Leenen also did not rule out revenge -- “We are also prepared to respond through countermass and protect our interests,” she said.
The 27 EU trade ministers met in Luxembourg earlier Monday to discuss US measures and the Commission's response.
Still expected this week is EU revenge against the 25 per cent charge of Trump for steel and aluminum since last month. ʼefčovich, speaking to reporters after the meeting in Luxembourg, said the Commission had prepared “a strong list”.
