Pinned
The president of the European Commission suggested that the 27-nation European Union offer “zero-for-zero” tariffs on certain goods amid market uncertainty over duties announced this past week by the Trump administration.
“We stand ready to negotiate with the U.S. Indeed, we have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trading partners,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on Monday.
The reason, she said, is “because Europe is always ready for a good deal.” But she cautioned that the EU is “also prepared to respond through countermeasures” and defend its interests.
The president of the European Commission suggested that the 27-nation European Union offer “zero-for-zero” tariffs on certain goods amid market uncertainty over duties announced this past week by the Trump administration.
“We stand ready to negotiate with the U.S. Indeed, we have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trading partners,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on Monday.
The reason, she said, is “because Europe is always ready for a good deal.” But she cautioned that the EU is “also prepared to respond through countermeasures” and defend its interests.
European Union ministers on Monday broadly agreed that the bloc should prioritize negotiations to remove tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The 27-nation bloc is currently facing 25 percent import tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars, with “reciprocal” tariffs of 20 percent due to kick in from Wednesday for almost all other goods under Trump’s new policy of penalizing countries he says impose high barriers to U.S. imports.
Trade ministers met in Luxembourg on Monday to debate the EU’s response, as well as to discuss relations with China.
President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on China if Beijing does not withdraw its retaliatory measures on U.S. goods.
In an April 7 Truth Social post, Trump said the Chinese communist regime has until April 8 to reverse its decision. If it fails to do so, the new tariffs will be implemented on April 9.
The warning follows China’s announcement last week of 34 percent retaliatory tariffs and other trade restrictions, in response to the administration’s April 2 rollout of reciprocal duties.
U.S. stocks seesawed Monday, as investors embarked on the first day of trading after President Donald Trump’s baseline 10 percent tariffs on imports went into effect.
After opening sharply down, markets were gripped by volatility fueled by social media speculation that Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs for all countries except China. The White House later described those reports as “fake news” in a post on social media.
As of Monday at 2:25 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down under 100 points, while the Nasdaq was up 130 points. The Dow’s modest decline came after an up-and-down morning trading that saw stocks plummet as much as 1,600 points before making a rebound.