Overview

• President Trump has warned of 30% duties on EU imports from August 1 and threatened 100% tariffs on Russia and its oil buyers if no ceasefire is reached in 50 days.
• EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič arrived in Washington on July 16 to meet US trade officials in an effort to defuse the tariff dispute.
• The European Commission has held in abeyance €21 billion in counter-tariffs and is drafting a second list worth about €72 billion, ready to deploy if talks collapse.
• German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil urged earnest negotiations but stressed that Europe must prepare retaliatory measures to safeguard jobs and seek new markets.
• Russia dismissed Trump’s ultimatum as unacceptable and continued attacks in eastern Ukraine, where recent Russian strikes killed and injured civilians.