The European Union is prepared to take more tariff countermeasures to pressure the United States

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is preparing to take upgraded tariff countermeasures against the United States in an effort to secure a better agreement.

The Financial Times of the UK reported on Tuesday (June 24) that Herbert, the chief of staff of von der Leyen, said that before the July 9 deadline for the trade negotiations between the EU and the US, the EU needs to coordinate its positions and be prepared to take more tariff countermeasures against the US to pose a "real threat" to it.

Sebert said that he hopes EU member states will support the plan to impose a package of tariffs on 95 billion euros worth of US goods, and pointed out that the EU is also preparing measures for the service industry, including taxing US technology companies and restricting US enterprises from obtaining public procurement contracts.

Von der Leyen said the other day that in the negotiations, if the sovereign decision-making process of the EU and its member states is involved, this is something the US side "cannot touch".

German Chancellor Metz emphasized that the German government will support taking tougher measures against the United States. He said that if no agreement is reached between Europe and the United States, the German side will take a variety of countermeasures to defend its own interests. If the current trade dispute escalates further, it will be detrimental to either party.

At present, the United States imposes a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum products from the European Union, a 25% tariff on the automotive sector, and a 10% benchmark tariff on almost all other goods. US President Trump also threatened that if there was no breakthrough in the US-EU trade negotiations by July 9, he would impose a 50% tariff on EU goods.

In response, the European Union once decided to impose tariffs of up to 50% on 21 billion euros worth of imported products from the United States. However, to leave time for trade negotiations, this retaliatory measure was postponed until July 14th to take effect.

Eu negotiators admitted that they would not be able to get Trump to lift the decision to impose a 10% benchmark tariff on all EU exports. Their goal is to reduce the additional tariffs imposed by the United States on areas such as steel, aluminium and automobiles.

A spokesperson for the European Union also said that internal consultations are underway regarding retaliatory measures against the United States' additional tariffs. If the negotiations between Europe and the United States fail to achieve satisfactory results, the European Union will reserve the possibility of using countermeasures.