European leaders spoke on Saturday (12) about the US’s tariff threat about imports from the European Union (EU), expressing support in the search for a trade agreement. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced that he intends to impose a 30% rate to resolve “long -term commercial deficits.”
Spain President Pedro Sánchez said in X that “economic openness and commerce create prosperity. Unjustified tariffs destroy it.” He also stated that the country supports the European Commission in negotiations to reach an agreement before August 1. “United, Europeans constitute the largest commercial bloc in the world. Let us use this strength to achieve a fair deal,” he said.
In turn, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof, expressed support to the European Commission in the search for a mutually beneficial result. “The US advertisement of 30% tariffs on products imported from the European Union is worrying and is not the way forward,” he said.
Agreement
The Italian government reported in a statement that it continues to monitor negotiations, supporting the commission. “We trust the goodwill of all stakeholders to reach a fair agreement that can strengthen the West as a whole, since – particularly in the current scenario – it would not make sense to trigger a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic,” he said.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said the European Union will continue negotiating with the United States for a trade agreement. “We are still ready to continue working towards an agreement until August 1st. At the same time, we will take all the necessary measures to safeguard the EU’s interests, including the adoption of proportional contracted, if necessary,” he said in a statement.
