EU blindsided by latest Trump tariff ultimatum

BRUSSELS, Jul 14: Throughout the week leading up to US President Donald Trump's 30 percent-tariff threat on the EU, European officials and diplomats insisted they were closing in on a deal -- right up until his letter landed at the weekend.

They privately described the outlines of an accord, showered top EU negotiator Maros Sefcovic with praise for his "remarkable" work and dismissed the prospect of a new US ultimatum short-circuiting those efforts.

But hopes of a swift deal came crashing down on Saturday as Trump publicly threatened the EU with levies three times the current level if there is no deal by August 1 -- after sending similar missives to other countries.

The United States had notified the European Commission, in charge of trade policy for the 27-country bloc, as well the EU's biggest economies a day earlier of the new tariff threat -- but for others it dealt an unexpected blow.

The commission appeared sanguine last week about the advancement of talks: the thinking went that Trump would keep a 10-percent baseline tariff on EU goods -- with exemptions for critical sectors like airplanes -- under an "agreement in principle" to be fleshed out later.

"I was rather surprised, of course, because during the week we had quite a positive mood about getting the framework agreement done," Finland's trade minister Ville Tavio said.

But he said, "the US has been rather spontaneous about their announcements", speaking before he and his EU counterparts discussed their strategy going forward in Brussels.

Others including Hungary appear to have learned of the letter via Trump's post.
But Hungary's deputy trade minister, Levente Magyar, said he was not surprised "because President Trump's been sending out these letters to all of his major counterparts".

Last week as Trump unveiled higher tariffs for Japan, South Korea and a dozen other countries ranging from 25 percent to 40 percent, the EU seemed to keep its cool.

AFP adds, the European Commission on Monday said it was putting forward a new list of US goods worth 72 billion euros ($84 billion) that could be targeted by EU levies if tariff talks with Washington fail.

The bloc's trade chief, Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, announced the proposal, "accounting for some 72 billion euros' worth of US imports", at a meeting with EU ministers in Brussels.    �"AFP