The EU on July 24 published an updated list of retaliatory tariffs it may impose against the U.S. in case it can't reach an agreement with the Trump administration to reverse threatened U.S. duties on steel, aluminum, cars and other goods (see 2507140040). The list includes more than 200 pages of commodity codes, with increased duties of up to 30% on agricultural goods, aircraft, cars, medical devices and electronics. The retaliatory duties will take effect Aug. 7 if the two sides don't come to a solution, the EU said.
Philippines President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos told reporters in Manila that the Philippines didn't agree to drop tariffs to zero on all U.S. goods, as the U.S. claimed. He said that the Philippines agreed to eliminate tariffs in particular markets the U.S. really cares about, like automobiles.
China has made several arrests and begun multiple investigations involving exports of critical minerals since launching a special operation earlier this year to crack down on the smuggling of those minerals (see 2505090018), its Ministry of Commerce said July 19.
The head of the trade committee in the EU parliament said one of the sticking points in the negotiations with the U.S. is whether 50% tariffs on steel and 25% tariffs on cars and car parts continue to be collected as the two parties move from an agreement in principle to a detailed agreement.
Beijing is following through on a trade agreement recently reached with Washington by approving license applications for certain exports to the U.S., a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said July 4 in response to a reporter's question at a press conference, without providing specific details.
A spokesman for the European Commission said the EU is not viewing the new Aug. 1 effective date of higher country-specific reciprocal tariffs as a sign they have more weeks to reach an agreement with the U.S. on tariffs. "Our aim remains to find an agreement before the ninth of July," Olof Gill told reporters in Brussels on July 7.
Days after U.S. officials said they secured an agreement for Beijing to rein in its export curbs on critical minerals (see 2506110044), China announced it has approved license applications for those exports, but didn't offer more details.
Canada is preparing new and revised tariffs, along with a tariff quota, to address what it said is the Trump administration’s “unfair trade” measures in the steel and aluminum sectors. The new tariffs and other measures will be in place as Canada negotiates a new “economic and security partnership” with the U.S., the country’s Department of Finance announced June 19.
Negotiators from the Council of the European Union's presidency and the European Parliament struck a provisional deal June 18 to exempt most importers from the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism, the council announced.
Bloomberg reported that an Indonesian delegation's trip to Washington that had been scheduled for next week was canceled because its proposal to address its trade surplus was considered sufficient.