Following the new US president’s tariff announcements Donald Trump, or EU It is preparing additional duties on US $ 72 billion imports, according to EU Commissioner Maros Sefsovic at a meeting of the Ministers of Commerce today (14.7.25) in Brussels.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the US president’s threat of 30 % duties is “absolutely unacceptable”. Failure preparations include a list of industrial and agricultural products from the US that are to be influenced by new EU duties if European efforts to reach a friendly agreement fail. After public consultation, the list was recently modified slightly. Initially, it included imports from the US to the EU worth 95 billion euros.
Sefkovich did not initially said which products were removed from the list. The list also included products of symbolic importance, such as US planes, cars and whiskey Burbon.
Trump’s letter brings ‘completely different dynamic’
The EU Commissioner had previously expressed his frustration over Trump’s announcement that he wanted to impose new 30% import tariffs on EU imports from August 1. “We’ve been dealing with an agreement in principle for weeks and I think we had almost arrived there,” he said. Trump’s announcement now brings “a completely different dynamic”.
At the same time, Sefcovic warned that the implementation of Trump’s plans would have a drastic impact on transatlantic trade. “Let’s be honest: a 30 percent duty would be equivalent to a de facto ban on trade »he said. If a 30% one hundred or more duties come into force, there will be a significant negative impact on both sides of the Atlantic, he added.
Negotiations by the end of the month
EU Commissioner for Commerce stressed that he would therefore continue his dialogue with the United States in order to achieve a solution through negotiations by August 1st. This is the date for which Trump has announced the entry into force of 30% on imports from the EU.
If no agreement is reached, the EU intends to respond with decisive countermeasures. Countermeasures have already been agreed upon that the US does not lift new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports introduced months ago.
According to earlier EU statements, they affect exports from the United States totaling 21 billion euros and could be added to the duties of € 72 billion worth to export.
The Commission has also recently prepared restrictions on some EU steel exports and chemicals to the US worth € 4.4 billion.
Trade threatening war
Concerning further negotiations, Sefcovic said that, despite Trump’s letter, he had the feeling that his US partners were ready to negotiate further. He was 100% convinced that a solution with negotiations would be much better than the tensions that could arise in the event of further escalation after August 1, said Sefcovic: “Otherwise, this will not have a good end.”
The German economy, which is largely exported, is considered particularly vulnerable to a trade war. According to a Bundesbank analysis, almost one in four jobs in Germany depends on exports, which had already shrunk in 2024 and are now being pressured due to the tariff dispute with the US, according to Handelsblatt.
There were no public statements by the German government at the meeting of the Ministers of Commerce today. The responsible Minister of Finance, Katherina Reiche (CDU), was represented by Undersecretary Thomas Steffen.
DIHK: German exports to the US could be reduced by one billion euros per month
At the same time, the German Industry and Chamber of Commerce (DIHK) expects significant losses if the uncertainty caused by US tariff policy continues.
DIHK’s financial expert Jupp Zenzen told Reuters news agency that this could reduce German industry exports to almost one billion euros a month.