Kenny Holston / EPA
Donald Trump, President of the USA
The president of the United States stated that the European Union must eradicate the trade agreement with the USA by July 4th. Otherwise, you will face “much higher” fees.
The president revealed that he had spoken by telephone with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenincluding the possibility of Iran possessing a nuclear weapon.
On his network, Trump indicated that a deadline was agreed until US Independence Day, which this year marks the 250 years of the Declaration of Independencefor the approval of the agreement.
“I agreed to give you until our country’s 250th anniversary or, unfortunately, your tariffs would go up immediately to much higher levels”, he said.
The president of the European Commission pointed to “significant progress” in implementing the trade agreement with the United States by the beginning of July.
“We are making significant progress towards reducing tariffs by early July,” he added.
This was achieved in July last year, establishing tariffs of 15% on most European products, recalls . This situation avoided a transatlantic trade war that could shake global markets.
However, following the US Supreme Court’s decision in February, which found that Trump abused his powers by imposing some tariffs, including on the EU, the situation became more complicated.
The initial agreement does not cover sectoral tariffs, such as those applied to the automobile sector, which had been reduced to 15% within the scope of the understanding.
Without final ratification by EU member states, Trump threatened increase tariffs on European cars and trucks to 25%accusing the bloc of not fulfilling its commitments.
Trump also reiterated that he expects the EU to “do your part” in what he described as the “biggest trade deal ever”, arguing that Europeans should reduce tariffs to zeroas allegedly foreseen in the initial understanding.
