The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, described on Thursday “hard blow” for the world economy the new customs of customs announced by the American president Donald Trump. She expressed her deep regret in the face of this decision and assured that Europeans were “ready to react”.
Consequently, the EU is currently working on the development of a “new package of countermeasures”, which it will implement if the negotiations, long wanted by the European Union, fail with the American administration. In addition, a first package of measures to respond to customs duties on steel is being finalized.
Donald Trump announced the taxation of new customs duties of at least 10 % on foreign products imported to the United States on Wednesday. As of April 9, the EU will be applied 20 %customs taxes. Ursula von der Leyen warned that this decision would have consequences “disastrous for millions of people around the world”, especially for “most vulnerable countries”. “There does not seem to be orderly order,” she said, expressing her concerns about Trump’s choices.
“I agree with President Trump on the fact that some unfairly benefit from current rules,” said the president of the European Commission. “However, it is important to emphasize that it is not by systematically using customs duties that the problem will be solved. From the start, we have always been opened to negotiation with the United States to eliminate the latest obstacles to transatlantic trade. »»
“Let’s go from confrontation to negotiations,” she added in her speech, delivered from Samarcande, Uzbekistan, where she participated in the first Central Eu-Asie summit, which takes place until Friday.