Germanyâs finance minister confirmed today that the EU is âready to retaliateâ if trade talks with the U.S. fail, emphasizing that Berlin supports swift countermeasures in the absence of a fair agreement from Washington. He warned that with the deadline approaching, the EU must be prepared to implement safeguards unless the U.S. offers balanced termsâreflecting the EUâs longstanding stance on reciprocal trade treatment.
Current status of negotiations
The European Union and the United States are racing against time to reach a temporary tariff deal that would keep duties on EU exports at the current 10% level. Brussels is pushing for permanent exemptions for high-value sectors such as civilian aircraft, aerospace parts, wine, and spirits. Meanwhile, Washington is demanding reciprocal concessionsâespecially on cars and metalsâand has proposed âcompensation quotasâ that would allow EU-owned plants in the U.S. to export a limited number of vehicles duty-free.
āđāļĢāļīāđāļĄāđāļāļĢāļāļāļąāļāļāļĩāļ§āļąāļāļāļĩāđ āļŦāļĢāļ·āļ āļĨāļāļāđāļāđāļāļąāļāļāļĩāļāļāļĨāļāļāđāļāļāđāļĢāđāļāļ§āļēāļĄāđāļŠāļĩāđāļĒāļ
āđāļāļīāļāļāļąāļāļāļĩ āļĨāļāļāļāļąāļāļāļĩāđāļāđāļĄāđ āļāļēāļ§āļāđāđāļŦāļĨāļāđāļāļāļĄāļ·āļāļāļ·āļ āļāļēāļ§āļāđāđāļŦāļĨāļāđāļāļāļĄāļ·āļāļāļ·āļNegotiators must reach at least a framework agreement by August 1, 2025, or nearly all European goods entering the U.S. will automatically face punitive tariffs of up to 50%, triggering the EUâs already-prepared retaliatory tariff package. Officials on both sides of the Atlantic hope to finalize an outline deal this week to maintain the 10% limit while continuing work toward a full, binding agreement.
EURUSD remains elevated, as news of potential complications in U.S. trade negotiations is weakening the dollar today.
