EU trade war with the USA: Brussels is back with 22 billion euros!

EU trade war with the USA: Brussels is back with 22 billion euros!

Laimgrubengasse 10, 1060 Wien, Österreich - A trade war is threatened by the EU and the USA, and Federal Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer urgently warns that "the EU may not be afraid of the United States or Trump". With a massive package of measures of over 22 billion euros, the EU reacts to the recently imposed punitive tariffs, which mainly affect luxury goods and consumption products. Hattmannsdorfer emphasizes the need for quick negotiations to preserve competitiveness and prevent the conflict escalation. A trade war, he says, would damage everyone involved and the first negative effects on the growth forecasts show how the exchanges react nervously. Without a doubt, the US needs the EU as well as vice versa, and the European community must appear strongly and confidently.

At the same time, the ARD studio Washington reports that EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic is trying to reach an agreement at the upcoming meeting with US trade representatives to prevent the threatened tariffs on important export goods such as German steel or Italian sports cars. Sefcovic emphasizes that tariffs would endanger the economic interests of both sides on EU products. In addition, the United States and the EU are on a common strand in terms of liquid gas: While the United States is increasing its funding amounts, the EU is looking for alternatives to Russian energy sources. The creation of an alliance in competition with China is also a possible goal.

on trade and armor cooperations

The trade balance between the EU and the USA is unequal: the trading volume is 4.5 billion euros per day, with the United States importing a number of goods from Europe for 200 billion euros every year. The American focus on the service industry and the dominance of tech giants such as Google and Facebook play an important role. In order to protect trade relationships, the EU is required to balance its trade balance with the United States. In addition, the armaments cooperation between the two economic blocks is identified as another potential business area, with the EU endeavor to strengthen its military independence. Germany alone has concluded weapons contracts worth 23 billion euros in the USA last year.