. The “last mile” is missing, as a good connoisseur of negotiations says. But traveling it successfully depends on President Donald Trump and his erratic economic policy does not inspire confidence. So the European Union takes steps to be ready in case the White House tenant does not give the approval: this Thursday morning the Member States have approved tariffs at a volume of US imports worth 93,000 million euros, diplomatic sources point out. The same ones that claim that no steps have been taken to activate the anticoration mechanism, which would allow to tax the trade of US services.
Almost no one in Brussels wants those tariffs that have been approved by qualified majority. , despite the displays and threats from the other side of the Atlantic. And this Wednesday began to bear fruit, when the commissioner of Commerce, Maros Sefcovic, took good news to his meeting with the ambassadors representing the Member States to the Council. There was optimism in the encounter, diplomatic sources point out, but it was also agreed not to lower the guard. And there comes the step taken that Thursday, which is still a sample of how little its partners, on paper, commercial and politicians in Europe.
The definitive list of products to which to apply tariffs consists of the two already known: the first close to 21,000 million that has already been approved – but has never applied to negotiate without giving rise to an escalation – and the proposal a week ago of 72,000 million, which had not yet received the approval of the states. Now he has unified and in it there are imports like. If it is activated, the plan pointed out on Wednesday is to function as a mirror tariff. That is, if arrived on August 1 there is no agreement and, as the letter sent by the US President on July 12, the EU will apply the same percentage, show diplomatic sources.
However, its activation will depend, most likely, on the decision that Donald Trump makes with respect to the budding pact, as well as the announcement he publishes in Truth Social, the social network of which he owns. The president uses this platform to disseminate ads, launch threats or express their relief, while indirectly forcing the media and citizens to become users of their business.
The agreement, which is being finalized, implies a 15% tariff for EU exports to the United States. That percentage, actually, ratifies the current situation, in force since April. Then Washington suspended the falsely called “reciprocal tariffs” for 90 days – at the end Trump, in another sample of his erratic policy, he extended the deadline – and reduced them at an additional rate of 10% that added to 4.8% that already applied before. The objective was to achieve an agreement and that seems close.
The negotiation framework that is being finalized would include car exports in that general tariff, which now pay 27.5% in total. There would be no aluminum and steel, on which it now weighs an additional tax of 50%. There would also be exemptions to products such as some spirits or the aeronautical sector.
It is key to know what will happen to open investigations on sectors such as the pharmacist – at which the US president threatened to impose a 200%tariff – and semiconductors. However, and given this Wednesday’s optimism in Brussels, it is likely that these obstacles, present until last Friday, have disappeared.
