Latest news with #ValdisDombrovskis
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
EU's Dombrovskis Says ‘Making Progress' in Trade Talks With US
(Bloomberg) -- The European Union is continuing intensive trade talks with the US ahead of a July 9 tariff deadline set by President Donald Trump and is 'making progress,' according to EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis. Security Concerns Hit Some of the World's 'Most Livable Cities' JFK AirTrain Cuts Fares 50% This Summer to Lure Riders Off Roads Taser-Maker Axon Triggers a NIMBY Backlash in its Hometown How E-Scooters Conquered (Most of) Europe NYC Congestion Toll Cuts Manhattan Gridlock by 25%, RPA Reports 'Our preference is to find a mutually acceptable solution and in a sense to park those trade tensions,' he told a news conference after a meeting of euro-area finance ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday. Still, he warned that the EU is 'ready to take measures to protect our economic interests and our businesses should we not be able to find this solution.' Asked whether the EU is resigned to Trump maintaining a 10% baseline tariff, he said 'so-called reciprocal tariffs' were 'speculative assumptions which are not reflecting the current state of negotiations.' The EU faces the threat of 50% levies on nearly all its exports to the US when a deadline set by Trump expires on July 9. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said a trade deal with the EU is likely to be among the last the US completes. The EU has approved tariffs on €21 billion ($24.1 billion) of US goods in response to Trump's metals levies that can be quickly implemented. They target politically sensitive American states and include products such as soybeans from Louisiana, home to House Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as agricultural products, poultry and motorcycles. The bloc is also preparing an additional list of tariffs on €95 billion of American products in response to Trump's so-called reciprocal levies and automotive duties. They would target industrial goods including Boeing Co. aircraft, US-made cars and bourbon. Ken Griffin on Trump, Harvard and Why Novice Investors Won't Beat the Pros Is Mark Cuban the Loudmouth Billionaire that Democrats Need for 2028? The US Has More Copper Than China But No Way to Refine All of It How a Tiny Middleman Could Access Two-Factor Login Codes From Tech Giants Can 'MAMUWT' Be to Musk What 'TACO' Is to Trump? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
14 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
EU's Dombrovskis Says ‘Making Progress' in Trade Talks With US
The European Union is continuing intensive trade talks with the US ahead of a July 9 tariff deadline set by President Donald Trump and is 'making progress,' according to EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis. 'Our preference is to find a mutually acceptable solution and in a sense to park those trade tensions,' he told a news conference after a meeting of euro-area finance ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
EU Commission proposes reducing red tape for defence industry
BRUSSELS, June 17 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Tuesday proposed changes to EU rules in order to cut red tape for investments in defence, as the continent seeks to urgently re-arm amid fears of Russia and doubts about the U.S. commitment to Europe's security. The Commission, the European Union's executive body, said the proposals aimed to address complaints from industry about slow bureaucracies and cumbersome regulation. The Commission proposed establishing fast-track national permitting systems where authorities would have a 60-day deadline to make decisions on defence-related permits. It also proposed taking defence readiness into account when enforcing competition rules. "Today's simplification package for defence proposes to unleash Europe's overwhelming economic heft, by breaking down internal barriers, cutting red tape and clarifying the rules, so that a truly European defence industrial and technological capacity can be ramped up," Valdis Dombrovskis, the European economy commissioner, said in a statement. European countries have ramped up defence spending in response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and warnings from the Trump administration that the U.S. can no longer be primarily focused on the continent's security. On mergers, antitrust and state aid policy, the Commission said it would "take duly into consideration the specificities of the defence industry and the European defence equipment market and its contribution to the objective of defence readiness". The Commission also presented new guidance on sustainable investments in defence, aiming to address complaints from industry that current rules severely deter private investment in the defence sector. "Defence is compatible with sustainability criteria, like any other sector," Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius told reporters. The new proposals also include the easing of some defence procurement rules and reduction of administrative burdens for the bloc's defence fund. Some of the proposals will have to be negotiated with EU governments and the European Parliament before they can be implemented.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Spring 2025 economic forecast: How much will Trump's tariffs hinder EU growth?
Heightened global policy uncertainty and trade tensions are overshadowing the European Union's economic growth prospects. The European Commission revised its outlook for the eurozone to 0.9% from the previous forecast of 1.3% in November. For 2026, the eurozone is expected to expand by 1.4% instead of the previously expected 1.6%. The EU is forecast to keep growing at a modest rate this year, at 1.1%. The EU's executive body forecast that growth will pick up in 2026 and reach 1.5%. The Commission said this on Monday in its spring forecast. The sharp slowdown in global trade, fuelled by global tensions, will leave its mark on Europe, too. The Commission is expecting EU exports to grow by only 0.7% this year, with a renewed contraction in exports of goods partially offset by the resilience of services exports, as they are less affected by trade tensions. In 2026, export growth is set to accelerate to 2.1%. Investments are expected to pick up this year, and private consumption is forecast to be slightly more robust than projected in autumn, reaching 1.5% in 2025 and 1.6% in 2026. Inflation is expected to slow down, with headline inflation descending to 2.1% in the eurozone in 2025 and further to 1.7% in 2026. In the EU, prices are expected to follow a similar path, falling just below 2% in 2026. The European Commission highlighted that the labour market remains robust, and it expects the unemployment rate to hit a record low of 5.7% in 2026. Related ECB's Lagarde: Trade tariffs are a negative shock for the eurozone German economic sentiment rebounds in May as tariff fears ease One reason for the lower growth estimate is due to Germany's stagnating economy, where growth is expected to be zero this year after two years of shrinking output. The EU's largest economy is heavily dependent on exports but has faced strong headwinds from higher energy costs after the loss of Russian natural gas due to the invasion of Ukraine, as well as from a lack of pro-growth infrastructure spending and competition from China in autos and industrial machinery. France, the second-biggest economy in the bloc, is set for 0.6% growth this year, followed by 1.3% in 2026, while Spain is expected to have GDP growth of 2.6% this year. The best performing economies in the EU include Poland, Ireland, Denmark and Malta this year. The proposal for a 20% US tariff on imported goods from Europe, in addition to its suspension for 90 days, has meant uncertainty "not seen since the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic," Economy Commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, said. The European Commission's forecast assumes that the proposed 20% rate can be reduced through negotiations with Washington to the base tariff rate imposed on all countries of 10%. While the EU's top trade official, Maros Sefcovic, has spoken several times with administration officials, it remains uncertain how willing Trump might be to reduce the rate. The forecast assumed that 25% tariffs on steel and autos from all countries will remain in place, as would exemptions on computer chips and pharmaceuticals. The report says that further fragmentation of global trade and climate-related disasters could hit the EU's GDP growth further and reignite inflationary pressures. On the other hand, the EU's economy could expand more than expected if the EU-US trade tensions de-escalate faster than expected. Meanwhile, quicker expansion of the EU's trade with other countries, as well as increased defence spending, could also improve the bloc's economic prospects. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data
Reuters
05-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Denmark gets Europe's Ukraine export guarantee scheme underway
LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Denmark has become the first country to formally join the European Union's new 300 million euro Ukraine export credit guarantee facility which supports European companies doing business with Ukrainian counterparts. The deal with Danish export credit agency EIFO is the first of more than a dozen similar agreements expected in the next few weeks between EU lending arm the EIB Group, the European Commission and national agencies. The overall facility is designed to back small and medium-sized firms which export to Ukraine, giving them protection if companies they deal with are impacted by the ongoing war with Russia. According to the EU's Eurostat agency, exports from the EU to Ukraine jumped to nearly 43 billion euros ($49.11 billion) last year. Up to 40 Danish companies are expected to benefit from the first agreement, while the likes of Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and some central and eastern European countries that export the most to Ukraine are expected to join soon. The European Commission's Valdis Dombrovskis said the facility represented "a significant step forward in further integrating the EU and Ukrainian economies, which is a crucial element of Ukraine's (EU) accession process." Kyiv's EU membership talks began last year, although a long and tough road lies ahead before it can join the bloc given the war with Russia. Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who was in Washington on Wednesday to formally sign the high-profile minerals deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, said the EU export support would help grow trade. Marjut Falkstedt, head of the European Investment Fund which provides the guarantees for the new export facility, said Denmark's sign-up was part of significant efforts made to get the facility up and running within a year. ($1 = 0.8757 euros)
