European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union is prepared for all eventualities in its trade negotiations with the U.S., including for a breakdown in talks.

Brussels

Donald Trump has signed an order to impose tariffs imports into the U.S. from countries including China, Mexico and Canada.

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has affirmed the European Union's readiness for all possible outcomes in its trade negotiations with the United States, including the potential for talks to fail. As the US considers imposing substantial tariffs on EU goods, EU leaders are working towards a pragmatic and unified approach to avoid escalation.

Discussions among EU leaders indicate a willingness to reach a swift and balanced agreement, though questions remain about potential asymmetry in any deal. The EU has also signaled that it is considering broader strategies to reduce reliance on the US, such as advancing trade agreements with other regions and exploring alternatives to the World Trade Organization.

Von der Leyen says EU is ready if U.S. trade talks break down

We are ready for a deal. At the same time we are preparing for the possibility that no satisfactory agreement is reached. This is why we consulted on a rebalancing list and we will defend the European interest as needed. In short, all options remain on the table. Okay, all options remain on the table. Joining us from Brussels is Bloomberg's Oliver Crook, who of course was covering that EU leaders meeting for us yesterday. Oli, some EU leaders then pushing for a quick solution as the deadline looms. How much division is there amongst EU leaders at this point? It seems at this point that they're coming slowly together to a more sort of pragmatic approach, Tom, and we should say that we are now, what, a week and a half away from that deadline, July the 9th, where the United States would impose 50% tariffs on the European Union. That is obviously a situation that everybody here in Brussels wanted to avoid. The United States probably also wants to avoid, but we should keep in mind, Tom, this is the biggest trading relationship on the planet. So from the EU's perspective and also from the US's perspective, it's really important that they get a deal right here and it's one that is relatively balanced. That being said, it appears that the consensus around the table is moving a little bit towards the direction of pragmatism. We heard from the new chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, this is his first EU leaders meeting that he's ever had, saying that it's better to go fast and simple than slow and highly complicated. We need to reach a result quickly. We have all agreed on that. There is no disagreement at all. We've also heard similar comments from Georgia Maloney, who says she's willing to accept some asymmetry, we think, in terms of a trade deal with the United States. But the question is here, Tom, fundamentally, how asymmetrical is this deal going to be with the United States and the EU? Where are they willing to make these concessions? We don't have a very clear answer from the EU at this point. That's why they say that all options are still on the table. I think that the base case, Tom, is that at the sort of minimum, the best case scenario is you're going to have a minimum 10 per cent tariff from the United States and the EU. The question is, with that 10 per cent, will you get retaliation? We've heard from the French that they'd sort of be open to that, but that's going to be the sort of active conversation over the last couple of weeks as we really sort of reach crunch time for those trade negotiations. Well, talking of the French, Ollie, how willing is President Macron and the French government willing to accept that potential asymmetry in any deal with the US? Yeah, so that's something that we've been reporting a lot on and we've been tracking very closely. And it seems at this point that the French are sort of moderating that position a little bit. So we heard from Séjourné. He's the commissioner for industry and competition here. We reported this a little bit earlier in the week that basically a 10 per cent tariff would garner a retaliation from the European Union. It seems that there is potentially a moderating of that position. That being said, I think that Macron is also very conscious of another dimension here, which is the Trump psychology dimension here. Is it better to sort of placate Trump or is it better to stand up to him? There are different schools of thoughts on this. He was saying that basically if you are not willing to stand up to him, you're going to appear naive and you're going to appear weak, potentially both. And the EU is neither of those two things. That being said, again, this will rely on the sort of appraisal of what Trump's appetite for escalation is. We should say there are also other sectors that the White House is trying to target. And I caught up with the competition commissioner yesterday, Tom, the one who's sort of in charge of all those big antitrust fines on those American tech companies. We know the White House wants to target those in some of the trade deals. I asked her if basically that's on the table in any sort of trade negotiation. Have a listen to what she had to say. We do not challenge the United States on how they implement the rules or how they adopt the regulation. I think that we deserve respect the same way. And I think that the Digital Markets Act is a very good proof of how we can be much more effective, much quicker and much cheaper when implementing a well-functioning market in the digital context. So I'm very proud of what we do. So, Tom, from the EU's perspective, the digital regulation is not really on the table. But again, I think this speaks to a broader concern that you have among the Europeans. Minmin was alluding to it earlier. We still don't have the sectoral tariffs. And always the perennial concern with the Trump administration is that they may get something and then come back for more. So the EU, apart from all of these sort of trade negotiations, they're also thinking their broader term of de-risking from the United States, moving forward with the Mercosur deal. That's the big trade deal with South America. But also, and this is part of the conversation yesterday, leaders talking about an alternative to the WTO, which they think is sort of dysfunctional. So longer term, you may get a deal with the United States, but Europe is really thinking about how they can de-risk from what is a very volatile administration in the United States.

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Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Russia hits Kyiv with largest drone attack after Trump-Putin call

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Jerusalem

More than 80 people killed in Gaza in one day

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Gilimanuk

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Tecoluca

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Manhattan

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Madrid

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Tehran

Iran Strikes

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Lhasa

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New York

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Boise

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Madison

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Paris

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Everglades

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Moscow

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Bangkok

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Von der Leyen says EU is ready if U.S. trade talks break down

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