WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
The European Union will extend the suspension of its countermeasures against US tariffs until early August, while it seeks to reach an agreed solution in trade relations with the United States, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said today.
US President Donald Trump yesterday escalated the global trade conflict and threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union from August 1, on top of existing sector-specific tariffs, despite months of intensive negotiations.
Announcing the extension of the suspension of retaliatory measures, Von der Leyen told reporters that the bloc would “continue to prepare additional countermeasures so that we are fully prepared”.
The first set of countermeasures against US steel and aluminium tariffs, which would have hit €21 billion worth of US goods, was suspended in April for 90 days to allow time for negotiations.
The suspension was due to expire tomorrow.
A second package has been in the works since May and targets €72 billion worth of US goods, but the measures have not yet been published and the final list needs to be approved by member states.
Von der Leyen added that the use of the EU’s anti-coercion instrument is not on the table for now.
“The instrument (against coercion) is designed for exceptional situations, and we are not there yet,” she said.
This instrument allows the bloc to retaliate against countries that put economic pressure on EU members to change their policies.
Possible retaliatory steps could include restricting access to the EU market for goods and services, as well as other economic measures in areas such as foreign direct investment, financial markets and export controls.
