The European Union has already prepared a list of tariffs worth 21 billion euros ($A37 billion) on US goods if the two sides fail to reach a trade deal, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says.
President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30 per cent tariff on imports from Mexico and the EU starting on August 1 after weeks of negotiations with major US trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive deal.
Tajani told daily newspaper Il Messaggero that to help the euro zone economy the European Central Bank should consider a new “quantitative easing” bond-buying-program, and more interest rate cuts.
The European Union said on Sunday it would extend its suspension of countermeasures to US tariffs until early August and continue to press for a negotiated settlement.
Tajani said the 21-billion-euro package of tariffs the EU had already prepared could be followed by a second set if a deal with the US proved impossible.
He said, however, he was confident that progress could be made in negotiations.
“Tariffs hurt every one, starting with the United States,” he said.
“If stock markets fall that puts at risk the pensions and the savings of the Americans.”
He said the goal should be “zero tariffs” and an open market among Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday he would work intensively with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to resolve the escalating trade war with the United States.
European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Monday that Washington and Brussels were approaching a positive outcome for both sides, and warned that a 30 per cent tariff would practically eliminate trade.
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