EU eyes Asia trade deals amid rising U.S. tariff threat

[Container Ship in Long Beach Harbor]
halbergman

A senior European Union official said the bloc is seeking to strengthen trade agreements with India and other Asia-Pacific nations as it prepares for the potential impact of U.S. tariffs.

“We need to explore how far, how deep we can go in the Pacific area with other countries,” EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said on Bloomberg TV on Monday.

“For instance, these conversations that are ongoing with India are quite important,” she said, referring to free-trade talks with the South Asian nation expected to be completed by year’s end.

The European Union announced on Sunday that it will extend its suspension of countermeasures [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4466991-eu-pauses-tariff-retaliation-as-trade-talks-with-trump-administration-continue] to U.S. tariffs until early August while continuing to push for a negotiated settlement, as the Trump administration increases its demands for concessions from trading partners.

Trump’s tariffs are the latest move in a long-running series of threats and escalations that have unsettled global markets and supply chains. The U.S. president has framed trade imbalances as a national security concern and continues to press for what he views as fairer terms.

An EU-China summit is scheduled for next week, where leaders from both sides are expected to address sensitive issues related to trade [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4461339-china-voices-strong-dissatisfaction-over-eu-ban-on-chinese-firms-in-medical-device-tenders]and geopolitics.

While China has been seeking closer ties with the EU, the bloc has voiced concerns over Chinese industrial overcapacity, limited market access for European companies, and Beijing’s continued support for Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine.

MORE ON MARKETS, ETC.

* YANG: The Good, Bad, And The Ugly In Investing Chinese Stocks [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4800803-yang-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly-in-investing-chinese-stocks]
* Investing In Europe: IEV Or EZU? [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4800353-investing-in-europe-iev-or-ezu]
* After The NFP Surprise, Is The U.S. Dollar Back In Play? [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4799160-after-nfp-surprise-is-the-us-dollar-back-in-play]
* EU holds off tariff countermeasures against the U.S. [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4467005-eu-holds-off-tariff-countermeasures-against-the-u-s]
* China's trade jumps: Exports beat, imports miss on domestic weakness [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4467004-chinas-trade-jumps-exports-beat-imports-miss-on-domestic-weakness]