Strasbourg, France, July 9 (EFE).- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the European Union (EU) continued to work closely with the United States to reach a trade agreement and was preparing “for all scenarios,” after Washington extended the tariff truce to Aug. 1.
“We will be firm. (But) we do prefer a negotiated solution. This is why we are working closely with the US administration to get an agreement,” said Von der Leyen while addressing the European Parliament.
“We stick to our principles. We defend our interests. We continue to work in good faith and we get ready for all scenarios,” she said.
Von der Leyen stressed that she had a “good exchange” with US President Donad Trump. over telephone earlier this week “to help move things forward,” and that the EU was looking for a reliable framework to keep building their common trade.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced that in a couple of days he could send a letter to the European Union about the new tariffs, after extending the tariff truce granted to its trading partners from Jul. 9 to Aug. 1.
Currently, the US applies tariffs of 10 percent on all products from the EU and 25 percent on imports of steel, aluminum and vehicles, but the Republican president threatened to raise them to 50 percent.
The EC president recalled that the tariffs applied from February by the US affect 70 percent of the total EU trade with that country, which represents measures of unprecedented scale.
Despite the tariff extension to Aug. 1 announced by Trump on Monday, the US president has already set the levies that some of his trading partners, such as Japan and South Korea, will have to pay thereafter.
Trump also announced a new 50 percent tariff on copper and said that he was contemplating a 200 percent tariff on pharmaceutical companies if manufacturers do not set up in the US.
In this context, Von der Leyen underlined that the EU was working “day and night” to find a solution because “tariffs are bad for business.”
The EU has recently concluded trade agreements with Mercosur, Mexico and Switzerland and is working to finalize one with India by the end of the year, said the EC president. EFE
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