Hello and welcome to the details of EU trade chief says accelerating free trade talks with Malaysia, Asean partners as US tariffs loom and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Maros Sefcovic, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, speaks to reporters in Singapore yesterday. — AFP pic
SINGAPORE, May 8 — The European Union is accelerating free trade talks with Asia following hefty tariffs by US President Donald Trump, the bloc's trade chief said yesterday.
Trump has slapped a series of higher tariffs on Europe since March and, in his biggest move, he imposed a 20 per cent tariff on a majority of EU goods last month — before announcing a 90-day pause that is due to expire in July.
Negotiations with Washington are a priority but such talks will not come “at any cost”, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told reporters in Singapore.
“I would like to underscore that in today’s geopolitical context, we are making sure that the EU is not putting all its eggs in one basket,” he said.
“Bilaterally, we are accelerating the negotiations with Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia,” he said.
All four countries are key members of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), a region of more than 650 million people.
“And we are also stepping up engagement with India. We just had another round of negotiations just last week,” said Sefcovic.
He was speaking in Singapore after signing a digital trade agreement between the EU and the city-state yesterday.
“Our goal here is also very clear: to keep signing agreements and remain a reliable, trusted and predictable partner in a rapidly shifting global landscape,” he said.
The commissioner said the EU is also looking at “potential enhanced cooperation” with members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Signs of ‘de-escalation’
The EU has a surplus of €154 billion (RM740 billion) against the United States in goods trade, but is in deficit for €104 billion in services, Sefcovic said, citing data from the European Statistics Office.
This leaves the EU with a surplus of €50 billion, which can be rebalanced by buying more liquefied natural gas, soya beans and high-end computer chips from the United States, Sefcovic said.
Trump has said the deficit is several hundred billion dollars a year.
There is currently a “baseline” levy of 10 per cent on goods from the 27-country EU and other nations around the world.
Negotiators are now seeking to avoid a full trade war if the higher tariffs come into force in July.
The EU will also be looking for signs of “de-escalation” when US and Chinese officials meet in Switzerland for tariff talks this weekend, the commissioner said.
Trump has imposed tariffs totalling 145 per cent on goods from China.
Beijing has retaliated with 125 per cent levies on imports from the United States. — AFP
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