EU halts U.S. trade talks following Trump’s 15% global tariff threat

On Monday, the European Parliament paused the ratification process of a major trade deal with the United States, marking the latest consequence of the Supreme Court overturning most of President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Following an emergency meeting in Brussels, lawmakers said the U.S.' side of the deal is now "so uncertain", News.Az reports, citing NBC news.

"Nobody knows what will happen ... and it's unclear if there will be additional measures or how the United States will really guarantee" its end of the agreement, the parliament's trade committee chief Bernd Lange said.

As the announcement was being made, Trump used social media to threaten "any country that wants to 'play games' with the ridiculous supreme court decision." Trump said countries could be hit "with a much higher tariff."

Trump ended his Truth Social post with, "BUYER BEWARE!!!"

The uncertainty coupled with Trump's threats sent U.S. stocks to their lows of the day. The Dow fell more than 710 points, or more than 1.4%. The S&P 500 fell 1% and the Nasdaq fell 1.3%.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index also dipped 0.2%. Benchmark indexes in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium and Sweden also traded in the red.

The deal reached between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last July would have eliminated what the White House called "trade barriers" in a variety of sectors for American exporters. The administration hailed the deal as a "generational modernization of the transatlantic alliance."

For the European Union, von der Leyen said, the deal created "certainty in uncertain times" and offered "stability and predictability, for citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic."

The agreement capped most U.S. tariffs on imports from the E.U. at 15% and cut tariffs to 0% on aircrafts and parts, generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some farm products and some critical raw materials not available in the U.S.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli