The body advocates pushing for a trade deal with Trump.
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The Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Carlos Cuerpo , has advocated this Monday upon his arrival at a meeting of the 27 in Brussels to "push" to reach an agreement that resolves the tariff war launched by the United States, although he has asked "not to be naive" and to agree on the second round of countermeasures to have it ready in case the negotiations fail in the new deadline given by the American president, Donald Trump , of August 1.
"We must continue pushing to achieve this agreement and support the Commission so that it can close this deal with the United States," he told reporters upon arriving at the meeting of EU trade ministers, while urging "us to also be aware, not to be naive, and to have these possible countermeasures ready in case the scenario we all want doesn't happen."
Thus, the minister considered that a " positive message must be sent that there has been substantial progress in recent weeks" and that there is still an opportunity for an agreement with the United States. "That agreement with the United States is still within our reach," Cuerpo maintained, calling for "intensified efforts" in the coming weeks to reach a negotiated solution and, therefore, "continue to extend our hand to negotiation."
"We're all going to work to intensify our efforts to achieve this, and what we do need to continue doing is, of course, moving forward in parallel to prepare for possible rebalancing measures that could be implemented if this agreement scenario ultimately doesn't materialize," he summarized.
Furthermore, the body has pointed out the need to "continue making progress" in "expanding" the network of "strategic" trade partners, citing as an example the "preliminary agreement" announced on Sunday between the European Union and Indonesia to conclude a free trade agreement by September.
He also highlighted the need to "be able to ratify" the agreement with Mercosur "before the end of the year." Negotiations concluded in December of last year but have not yet made progress toward approval. Since then, the EU has been waiting for Brussels to present a legal proposal that would allow the ratification process to begin with the Council—where it faces reservations from France and Poland—and the European Parliament.
Thus, the minister has supported the EU executive in its decision to further delay the entry into force of the first round of retaliation measures on €21 billion in purchases from the United States. The measures were designed by the EU in April to respond to the initial US surcharges on steel and aluminum, but were suspended until Monday to allow time for negotiations.
Brussels announced this Sunday that it will extend the suspension until August 1, the new deadline set by Trump, who has threatened to impose widespread tariffs of 30% on European imports starting that date.
Trade Commissioner and negotiator with Washington, Maros Sefcovic , will also present this Monday to Member States the final list for a second round of countermeasures. This list was initially intended to affect around €95 billion of US imports, but has been significantly reduced following negotiations with the capitals.
"We have to give ourselves room for negotiation. We'll see, once we reach those dates at the beginning of August, what the situation is and whether the conditions are right or not," he continued, before arguing that the European Union has the "necessary tools to act" should the negotiations derail.
ABC.es