EU warns its trade with US could be effectively wiped out if Trump follows through on tariff threat

The European Union has warned that its trade with the United States could be effectively wiped out if Washington makes good on its threat to slap a 30% tariff on goods imported from the bloc. A tariff of “30%, or anything above 30%… has more or less the same effect. So, practically it prohibits the trade,” Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s trade commissioner, said as he arrived ahead of an EU ministerial meeting in Brussels on Monday.

The EU is said to be seeking a preliminary agreement with the US that would allow it to lock in a 10% tariff rate beyond an Aug. 1 deadline. Šefčovič said it will “be almost impossible” for the bloc to continue its current level of trade with America if that new tariff rate is implemented on August 1 – the date stipulated by US President Donald Trump in his letter to the EU on Saturday. #CNN #News