EU Threatens Tariffs on U.S. Goods Ahead of July 9 Trade Talks Deadline

According to the Financial Times on the 24th, Björn Seibert, chief of staff to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, stated that the European Union must coordinate its internal positions before the July 9 deadline for EU-U.S. trade negotiations and be prepared to impose further retaliatory tariffs on the United States in order to pose a “credible threat.”

Seibert indicated that von der Leyen is prepared to escalate tariff retaliation against the U.S. to secure a better deal. He hopes EU member states will support a package of tariffs on U.S. goods valued at €95 billion and mentioned that the EU is also preparing measures targeting the services sector. These include taxing U.S. tech companies and restricting their access to public procurement contracts.

Von der Leyen recently emphasized that in negotiations, if matters touch upon the sovereign decision-making processes of the EU and its member states, such issues are “off-limits” to the U.S.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed that the German government would support stronger actions against the U.S. He stated that if no agreement is reached between the U.S. and EU, Germany will take various countermeasures to defend its own interests. He also warned that if the current trade dispute escalates further, it would be detrimental to all parties involved.

At present, the U.S. imposes a 50% tariff on EU steel and aluminum products, a 25% tariff on vehicles, and a 10% baseline tariff on nearly all other goods. U.S. President Donald Trump has also threatened to impose a 50% tariff on EU goods if there is no breakthrough in trade negotiations by July 9.

In response, the EU had previously decided to impose tariffs of up to 50% on €21 billion worth of U.S. imports. However, to allow room for negotiations, the implementation of this retaliatory measure has been postponed to July 14.

EU negotiators acknowledged that they will not be able to get Trump to cancel the 10% baseline tariff on all EU exports. Their goal is to reduce the additional tariffs imposed by the U.S. on steel, aluminum, and the automotive sector.

An EU spokesperson also stated that internal consultations are ongoing regarding the retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. If the EU-U.S. negotiations fail to yield a satisfactory result, the EU reserves the right to use countermeasures.