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Euro Trade Ministers Meet for Strategy 07/14 06:18

   European trade ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday, following U.S. 
President Donald Trump's surprise announcement of 30% tariffs on the European 
Union.

   BRUSSELS (AP) -- European trade ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday, 
following U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise announcement of 30% tariffs on 
the European Union.

   The EU is America's biggest business partner and the world's largest trading 
bloc. The U.S. decision will have repercussions for governments, companies and 
consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.

   "We shouldn't impose countermeasures at this stage, but we should prepare to 
be ready to use all the tools in the toolbox," said Denmark's foreign minister, 
Lars Lokke Rasmussen, told reporters ahead of the meeting. "So we want a deal, 
but there's an old saying: 'If you want peace, you have to prepare for war.'"

   The tariffs, also imposed on Mexico, are set to start on Aug. 1 and could 
make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German 
electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the U.S., and 
destabilize economies from Portugal to Norway.

   Meanwhile, Brussels decided to suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods 
scheduled to take effect Monday in hopes of reaching a trade deal with the 
Trump administration by the end of the month.

   The "countermeasures" by the EU, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of 
its 27 member countries, will be delayed until Aug. 1.

   Trump's letter shows "that we have until the first of August" to negotiate, 
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels 
on Sunday.

   Maro efovi, the EU's trade representative in its talks with the 
U.S., said negotiations would continue

   "I'm absolutely 100% sure that a negotiated solution is much better than the 
tension which we might have after the 1st of August," he told reporters in 
Brussels on Monday.

   "I cannot imagine walking away without genuine effort. Having said that, the 
current uncertainty caused by unjustified tariffs cannot persist indefinitely 
and therefore we must prepare for all outcomes, including, if necessary, 
well-considered proportionate countermeasures to restore the balance in our 
transit static relationship."

   The letters to the EU and Mexico come in the midst of an on-and-off Trump 
threat to impose tariffs on countries and right an imbalance in trade.

   Trump imposed tariffs in April on dozens of countries, before pausing them 
for 90 days to negotiate individual deals. As the three-month grace period 
ended this week, he began sending tariff letters to leaders, but again has 
pushed back the implementation day for what he says will be just a few more 
weeks.

   If he moves forward with the tariffs, it could have ramifications for nearly 
every aspect of the global economy.

   In the wake of the new tariffs, European leaders largely closed ranks, 
calling for unity but also a steady hand to not provoke further acrimony.

   Just last week, Europe was cautiously optimistic.

   Officials told reporters on Friday they weren't expecting a letter like the 
one sent Saturday and that a trade deal was to be inked in "the coming days." 
For months, the EU has broadcast that it has strong retaliatory measures ready 
if talks fail.

   Reeling from successive rebukes from Washington, efovi said Monday the 
EU is "doubling down on efforts to open new markets" and pointed to a new 
economic agreement with Indonesia as one.

   The EU top brass will visit Beijing fora summit later this month while 
courting other Pacific nations like South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, the 
Philippines, and Indonesia, whose prime minister visited Brussels over the 
weekend to sign a new economic partnership with the EU. It also has mega-deals 
in the works with Mexico and a trading bloc of South American nations known as 
Mercosur.

   While meeting with Indonesia's president on Sunday, Von der Leyen said that 
"when economic uncertainty meets geopolitical volatility, partners like us must 
come closer together."

 
 
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