EU threatens countermeasures over US tariffs, Trump says he is open to talks

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A US flag flutters in front of shipping containers at the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, California.

PHOTO: REUTERS

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON - The European Union on July 14 accused the US of resisting efforts to strike a trade deal and warned of countermeasures if no agreement is reached to avoid the punishing tariffs President Donald Trump has threatened to impose starting on Aug 1.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, said he was open to further discussions with the EU and other trading partners before new 30 per cent tariffs kick in next month and that EU officials would be coming to the United States for negotiations.

“They would like to do a different kind of a deal and we’re always open to talk, including to Europe,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. “In fact, they’re coming over. They’d like to talk.”

Mr Trump

stepped up his trade war

The EU has so far held off on retaliatory measures to avoid a spiralling tit-for-tat escalation while there remains a chance of negotiating an improved outcome. But EU ministers emerging from a meeting in Brussels on July 14 appeared closer to striking back.

Speaking at a news conference following the meeting, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the tariff threat “absolutely unacceptable.”

EU Trade Chief Maros Sefcovic