EU, UK warn Trump trade deals are at risk as new 15% tariff introduced

Europe has warned that trade deals with the US may now be at risk after President Donald Trump unveiled a new 15% global tariff on all imports at the weekend.

Trump’s move came after the US Supreme Court hearing on Friday hit down His global tariff policy, implemented last spring, has upset the long-established global trading order.

The president reacted to the Supreme Court ruling by initially announcing a new 10% global tax, Using a different legal framework for the latest definitionsBut then the global tariff rate was increased to 15%, the legal maximum that can be in place for 150 days before receiving congressional approval.

Trump said the new import duties “effective immediately.” Social function of truth on saturday.

Officials in Europe and London have expressed concern and dismay over the recent turmoil in global trade relations, saying Trump’s new tariff policy could upend trade agreements signed with the United States last year.

They demanded more clarity from the White House regarding what the new tariff policy framework would mean in practice for their trade deals, which saw most EU exports to the US being levied at 15%, and UK exports being levied at 10%.

The head of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, Bernd Lange, responded to the White House on Sunday, saying: “Tariffs chaos from the US administration.”

“No one can understand it anymore – only open questions and growing uncertainty for the EU and other US trading partners,” Lange wrote on social media platform X.

“Wouldn’t the new tariffs… constitute a breach of the agreement? Regardless, no one knows whether the United States will abide by them — or even be able to,” Lang said, adding that “legal clarity and certainty are needed before any further steps are taken.”

The European Parliament’s trade committee is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss Trump’s latest trade move, and Lange said he would propose suspending implementation of the US-EU trade deal until the bloc has a “comprehensive legal assessment and clear commitments from the United States” regarding the latest tariffs.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told German broadcaster ARD that there would be a “very clear European position on this” ahead of his visit to the White House in early March, but deferred to the European Commission in Brussels on how the EU would respond to the tariffs.

However, French Trade Minister Nicolas Fourisier indicated that Brussels may retaliate against Washington. Speaking to the Financial Times, Forisier urged EU members to do so “Be naive” And adopting a unified approach against the White House’s new trade stance.

The UK also asked how the new tariff policy would affect its trade deal with the US, which given its size Baseline tariff rate 10%It has put the country at a competitive advantage to its European neighbours.

A British government spokesman said at the weekend: “Under any scenario, we expect our advantaged trading position with the US to continue and we will work with the administration to understand how the ruling will impact tariffs for the UK and the rest of the world.”

Those with the lowest definitions to start with They are outwardly hurt moreHowever, the UK would be at a significant disadvantage if the tariff rate in its trade agreement was not respected.

On a trade-weighted basis, the UK faces a 2.1 percentage point increase in its average tariff rate, while the EU expects an increase of 0.8 percentage points. According to the analysis From the global trade watchdog based in Switzerland. In contrast, the rate decreased in Brazil by 13.6 points, and in China by 7.1 points.

Tina Fordham, founder of Fordham Global Insight, told CNBC on Monday that the United States’ closest allies appeared to be the hardest hit by what she called the recent “trade chaos,” but she agreed that more clarity was needed from U.S. officials.

“This is an administration that doesn’t think much about second- or third-order effects, and so what we’re seeing is that those countries that tried to get in early and make an advantageous deal when the president first started talking about these tariffs … are being punished,” she told CNBC’s “Early Europe” program.

European markets opened lower on Monday, showing investors’ concern about the latest tariff move. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned on Sunday that transatlantic trade relations could be harmed by trade uncertainty.

“It is very important that everyone in trade, both outside the United States and within the United States, have clarity about the future of the relationship,” she told CBS on Sunday.

“It’s a bit like driving. You want to know the rules of the road before you get into the car. It’s the same with commerce,” she added.

“if it was [the new tariffs policy] It shakes all the balance that business people are accustomed to… [it] “It will definitely lead to business disruptions,” she said.