Page 27 - European Union

US tariffs will not go unanswered: EU chief vows tough countermeasures

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday that US tariffs on steel and aluminum will not go unanswered, adding that they will trigger tough countermeasures from the 27-nation bloc. The EU will act to safeguard its economic interests, von der Leyen said in a statement in reaction to US President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum the previous day. Tariffs are taxes bad for business, worse for consumers, von der Leyen said. Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures. In Germany, home to the EU's largest economy, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told parliament that if the US leaves us no other choice, then the European Union will react united, adding that "ultimately, trade wars always cost both sides prosperity. Trump is hitting foreign steel and aluminum with a 25% tax in the hope that they will give local producers relief from intense global competition, allowing them to charge high

Macron unveils $112.5 bn AI investment to boost France's tech ambitions

French President Emmanuel Macron compared this initiative to the $500-billion AI data centre project announced by US President Donald Trump last month

Canada aims to strengthen EU trade ties amid tariff threats from Trump

Canada is also pushing to diversify its exports and set itself a target in 2018 of increasing non-US exports by 50 per cent by 2025. Ng said the country was on track to meet or exceed the target

Baltic nations cut ties to Russian power grid, prepare to link with EU

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania disconnected from the IPS/UPS joint network and, subject to last-minute tests

India in talks with EU to resolve new trade regulations: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said India is in talks with the European Union to resolve issues related to the new EU trade regulations. Responding to queries on EU trade barriers in the Rajya Sabha, Goyal said the EU has introduced new regulations for their own industries. "There is certainly an issue where the EU has come up with new regulations which we are actively discussing with them to resolve," he said. The government is having discussions on issues like the deforestation Act, he said, adding, "we will have to engage with them and find mutual resolution to make the process simple and ensure it does not hurt our industry." Goyal said if unfair trade barriers are imposed, the government will take up the matter strongly with India's counterparts through bilateral discussions and multilateral trade organisations. Asked if India has initiated any discussion with the EU regarding mutually agreed pacts in view of stringent regulations, the minister said thi

Temu, Shein targeted as EU cracks down on unsafe ecommerce imports

It said the cheap imports pose unfair competition to EU sellers which follow the rules while the large number of packages being shipped has a negative impact on the environment and climate

Apple raises concerns over first porn app on iPhone under new EU rules

AltStore said Hot Tub was notarized by Apple and in a post on X described that move as making the app 'the world's 1st Apple-approved porn app,' raising Apple's ire

EU to tighten checks on cheap products from sites like Temu, Shein

According to the Commission, 91 per cent of all ecommerce shipments into the EU valued under 150 euros last year came from China. In total 4.6 billion low-value shipments arrived in the EU last year

EU must stay united against Trump's tariff threat: Spanish minister

EU leaders meeting at an informal summit in Brussels on Monday said Europe would be prepared to fight back if the U.S. imposes tariffs, but also called for reason and negotiation

EU leaders hold summit no longer certain about aims of their old ally, US

European Union leaders are gathering on Monday for informal talks focused on defence with no clear sign yet from US President Donald Trump about how he intends to try to end Russia's war on Ukraine. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will join the bloc's 27 leaders at a self-styled retreat at Egmont Place in the Belgian capital, Brussels. The summit will focus on EU-US cooperation, military spending and ramping up Europe's defense industry. The meeting comes as Europe's biggest land conflict since World War II approaches its third anniversary, and with confidence in Trump shaky as he threatens his allies with tariffs. Trump already slapped duties on European steel and aluminum during his first term. Last month, Trump also left open the possibility that the American military might be used to secure Greenland, as well as the Panama Canal. We need Greenland for national security purposes, he said. Greenland, home to a large US military base, is an ..

EU leaders meet today to discuss defence against Russia and handling Trump

EU leaders are expected to discuss what military capabilities they need in the coming years, how they could be funded and how they might cooperate more through joint projects

Will work out measures to help industry address non-tariff barriers: Goyal

The commerce and finance ministries are working as a team to see which are the sectors that require maximum support in terms of availability of capital, technology upgradation, marketing

The need for strategic thinking: Focusing on big gains in key areas

We need to be strategic to husband our policy reform resources, devoting energy to a few important areas that will materially impact the investment environment for private persons

EU carbon tax, deforestation regulation may impact exporters: Eco Survey

The European Union's (EU) non-trade measures - carbon tax and deforestation regulation - are expected to impact Indian exporters, Economic Survey 2024-25 said on Friday. It said globally, non-tariff measures such as subsidies and export-related measures, have risen in aid of nations' industrial policy goals. Unlike broad-based tariffs, these non-tariff measures tend to be granular in their approach. They are often less visible, making them harder to assess. In the future, the imposition of climate-change-related NTMs by the EU in the form of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is anticipated to have broad implications for exporters in emerging economies such as China, India, and Turkey," the survey said. Implemented by the EU and under consideration by the UK, CBAM aims to align the cost of carbon emissions for imported goods with that of domestically produced products. Under the mechanism, importers will buy carbon ...

5 years after Britain left EU, full impact of Brexit still emerging

Five years ago Friday, two crowds of people gathered near Britain's Parliament some with Union Jacks and cheers, others European Union flags and tears. On Jan 31, 2020 at 11 pm London time midnight at EU headquarters in Brussels the U.K. officially left the bloc after almost five decades of membership that had brought free movement and free trade between Britain and 27 other European countries. For Brexit supporters, the U.K. was now a sovereign nation in charge of its own destiny. For opponents, it was an isolated and diminished country. It was, inarguably, a divided nation that had taken a leap into the dark. Five years on, people and businesses are still wrestling with the economic, social and cultural aftershocks. The impact has been really quite profound, said political scientist Anand Menon, who heads the think-tank U.K. in a Changing Europe. It's changed our economy. And our politics has been changed quite fundamentally as well, he added. We've seen a new division around

China's big EV push into Europe fizzles out on EU tariffs and slowdown

Brands led by SAIC Motor Corp.'s MG registered 3.5 per cent fewer EVs in the region for all of 2024, according to data from automotive researcher Dataforce

EU cautiously agrees to ease sanctions on Syria in wake of Assad's downfall

European Union foreign ministers on Monday agreed to begin lifting sanctions on Syria, while insisting that the measures should be reimposed if they see any abuses by the country's new rulers. The EU started to impose asset freezes and travel bans on Syrian officials and organisations in 2011 in response to Bashar Assad's crackdown on protesters, which festered into a civil war. The 27-nation bloc targeted 316 people and 86 entities accused of backing Syria's former ruler. It is keen to lift those measures if Syria's new leaders set the country on the path to a peaceful political future involving all minority groups and in which extremism and former allies Russia and Iran have no place. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ministers had agreed on a roadmap for easing sanctions. Speaking after chairing the meeting, she said, the aim was to lift those measures that are most hindering the early buildup of the country and to move from there. She underlined that the ministers had on

EU extends Russia sanctions by 6 months after Hungary lifts veto threat

The European Union agreed a 6-month extension Monday for a raft of sanctions aimed at depriving Russia of funds to finance its war against Ukraine after Hungary lifted its objections to the move. The sanctions target trade, finance, energy, technology, industry, transport and luxury goods. They include a ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU. They will now remain in place at least until July 31. Some measures were introduced in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, but the list grew significantly after Moscow's full-fledged invasion of its neighbour almost three years ago. On Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn called on the EU to intervene in a gas dispute that his country has with Ukraine. He said Kyiv's decision to halt the transit of Russian gas into Central Europe had forced Hungary to turn to alternative routes, which raised energy prices. To satisfy Orbn's demand, the European ...

Centre initiates anti-dumping probe into PVC resin imports from EU, Japan

India has initiated a probe into the alleged dumping of PVC paste resin, used to make artificial leather and other technical textiles' products, from the European Union (EU) and Japan, according to a notification. The commerce ministry's investigation arm, Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), is probing the dumping as imports are allegedly hurting the margins of the domestic industry. Chemplast Sanmar Ltd has filed an application seeking the imposition of anti-dumping duty, stating that the cheap imports are causing material injury to the domestic industry. "On the basis of the duly substantiated written application submitted by the domestic industry and having reached satisfaction based on the prima facie evidence submitted by domestic industry about the dumping of subject goods...the Authority, hereby, initiates an anti-dumping investigation," the DGTR has said in a notification. If it is established that the dumping has caused material injury to domestic players, the DG

European Union rejects election in Belarus, threatens new sanctions

The European Union rejected the election in Belarus on Sunday as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions. Belarus held an orchestrated vote virtually guaranteed to give 70-year-old autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko yet another term on top of his three decades in power. Today's sham election in Belarus has been neither free, nor fair, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said in a joint statement. The relentless and unprecedented repression of human rights, restrictions to political participation and access to independent media in Belarus, have deprived the electoral process of any legitimacy," Kallas and Kos said. They urged the Belarusian government to release political prisoners, estimating their number at more than 1,000, including an employee of the EU delegation in Belarus' capital, Minsk. Kallas and Kos said that the decision to invite observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe only 10 days ago ..