On Saturday, the message came: From and with August 1, the President of the USA, Donald Trump, will introduce 30-percent tariffs on goods from the EU.
Trump has previously said that the tariffs can contribute to rebuilding the USA's economy. In the letter to the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which was published on Trump's own platform Truth Social, the President wrote that the USA's trade deficit is a "national security threat".
The President thinks that the agreements should be better, and he sent out those letters to draw a line in the sand. We'll see how it develops, says Kevin Hassett to ABC News.
Ursula von der Leyen said earlier on Sunday that the EU will continue to wait to respond to the USA's steel and aluminum tariffs, in the hope of getting an agreement before August 1.
"The USA has sent us a letter with measures that would come into force if there is no negotiating solution, so we will also extend the cancellation of our countermeasures until the beginning of August", she says.
The EU's current decision to cancel countermeasures would have expired on the night between Monday and Tuesday.
On Monday, the USA announced that the deadline for the negotiations on the USA's trade tariffs is extended from July 9 to August 1. On the same day, Trump threatened 14 countries with tariffs of up to 40 percent.
