The EU trade minister met in Brussels on Monday after US President Donald Trump declared that EU 30% tariffs would begin on August 1, while German leaders joined other European leaders on Sunday to advise on a mild approach to ongoing trade negotiations.
The Minister will meet to discuss trade between the US and China at the beginning of the two-day foreign council convened in the Belgian capital.
Saturday, US President Donald Trump True Social posted a set of new letters on his social media platformwill declare 30% on the EU and Mexico. This is a move that could cause major upheavals between the US and its two biggest trading partners.
The European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen responded quickly by focusing on Bullock’s “commitment to dialogue, stability and constructive Atlantic partnerships.”
“We have always been very clear that we prefer negotiated solutions. This is true and we will use the time we have now until August 1st,” she said at a press conference on Sunday. “We can prepare for this and take action as needed.”
Von Der Leyen also said the EU will suspend retaliatory tariffs on US goods scheduled to be implemented Monday, hoping to reach a trade deal with the Trump administration by the end of the month.
German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz spoke with von der Leyen, French Emmanuel Macron and President Trump on Friday, and adopted optimism in the media telling national broadcaster ARD on Sunday.
Mertz said he emphasized that negotiations have progressed and that other countries that received similar letters, including China and Canada, have found a rational solution.
“Now no one needs new threats or provocations. All we need is the EU to continue serious and intensive consultations with the US,” the country’s finance minister Lars Klingbail told Germany’s Suddiutez Zitan.
Other European leaders joined in urging Trump to give more time and warning about the possibility of new tariffs in Washington.
“It is now more than ever that we can assert the union’s resolve to firmly defend European interests through European unity,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement posted to X.
Italian Meloni warns not to cause a trade war
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said “it would be pointless to cause a trade war on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rocke Rasmussen told the broadcaster doctor that Trump is taking a “meaningless and very short-sighted approach.” In an interview with the country’s public broadcaster SVT, Swedish Prime Minister Wolf Christerson warned that “everyone will lose from an escalating trade dispute and become the US consumers who pay the best prices.”
Retiring Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schuf wrote to X that the announcement was “a concern, not a way to move forward.”
Ireland’s Taojeech Michael Martin added on Saturday that tariffs represent a “setback” and that collection is “sustainable and not in attendance.” In his remarks, Martin also said that the European Union has measures at the table, but “it doesn’t need to be deployed and would prefer a negotiated approach.”