Tariffs, Trump: 'Progress with the EU, I think we will all be happy'. Giorgetti: "Over 10% tariffs unsustainable"

Brazilian companies have asked the government to negotiate with Washington a 90-day postponement of the entry into force of the 50% tariffs imposed by Donald Trump against Brazilian products, scheduled to take effect on 1 August. This was reported by Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin after the first meeting of the inter-ministerial committee with representatives of productive sectors and trade associations, convened to address the economic and diplomatic crisis.

US President Donald Trump announced that a 19% tariffs will be imposed on imports from Indonesia, while the US will pay nothing, according to local media reports. He also stated that the US will have full access to Indonesia. Previously, Trump had stated on his social platform, Truth Social: 'Great deal, for everyone, just closed with Indonesia. I spoke directly with their highly respected president,' Prabowo Subianto.

"We are making progress with the EU, I think we will all be happy," US President Donald Trump said this, referring to negotiations with the European Union on tariffs. "But we already have a letter," Trump said, referring to the one in which he announced 30 per cent tariffs from 1 August.

The governor of the Brazilian state of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, met with the chargé d'affaires of the US embassy in the country, Gabriel Escobar, and a group of businessmen to discuss the impact of the 50% tariffs imposed by Washington on Brazilian products. The meeting was convened with the aim of identifying the sectors most affected by the measure and keeping the dialogue with the White House alive. Freitas made it clear that he did not want to compete with the government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, recognising that the leadership of the negotiations lies at the federal level.

"It is too important to arrive at a reasonable compromise" on tariffs, "we need to negotiate without getting tired, without giving an inch", Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said at the event for the 165th anniversary of the Corriere Adriatico. The 10 per cent threshold "was reasonable, you cannot go very far from this number, otherwise it becomes unsustainable," he added.

The first EU counter-duties against Donald Trump's imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium (so far frozen to facilitate dialogue), worth EUR 21 billion, will be triggered on 6 August if no agreement is reached. This was reported by EU sources close to the dossier. The decision on the second package of 72 billion euros, now under consideration by the member states and designed to react to the US measures on reciprocal tariffs and cars, will instead be evaluated "according to the evolution of the negotiations", the same sources point out.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani today concluded a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington. The meeting also addressed the political aspects of the US-EU confrontation on tariffs. The prospects for US engagement on Ukraine after yesterday's announcement by President Trump were discussed.

"We agree that a trade war should be avoided in any way" between the US and the EU and "we will continue, together with other leaders and in contact with the Commission, to work for a mutually beneficial agreement to be reached before 1 August. For me the goal is to strengthen the West as a whole and our economies, all other scenarios would be senseless in the current context'. So said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in statements to the press together with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker.

The EU should 'set up a European income and employment support fund because the transition and reorganisation processes that are taking place cannot be paid for by workers. We need it quickly'. This was said by the general secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini, after the meeting with the vice-president of the EU Commission, Raffaele Fitto. The fund, he indicated, should be on the 'Sure model', the 100 billion common loan instrument used during the Covid to cover the costs of cigs. "The real risk is that the transition process or the introduction of tariffs will lead to layoffs and company closures and this is not acceptable to us," he added.

My name is Maroš, I solve problems.

Remember Mr Wolf from Pulp Fiction? Here he is: Maroš Šefčovič, the man now challenging Donald Trump on the tariffs front, the face of European negotiations, has for decades been someone who is used to taking problems apart in small, tiny pieces.

Avs, Pd, M5s, Iv, Action and More Europe call for an urgent briefing by Giorgia Meloni on tariffs in the Chamber of Deputies. "Trump has decided on 30% tariffs, an irresponsible choice that risks bringing an enormous economic and social crisis", Meloni "has the duty to share the government's strategy with the opposition. Come immediately to the House,' said Angelo Bonelli of Avs. 'It has been 72 hours since Trump's announcement. Patriot stop hiding and running and come and report. We call for the convening of the conference of group leaders to formalise the request," the words of Dem Chiara Braga.

"I think we have to talk, talk, talk to reach a win-win agreement with a big final goal: a big market between Europe, America, Canada and Mexico". This was stated by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in an interview with Fox Business in which he commented on the trade tensions between the EU and the US. "Now we have to work to reach the first step, which is an agreement before 1 August. Italy is ready to invest more in the US,' Tajani clarified, stressing that 'America is a good country to invest more and we are ready to do so' Italy, the minister continued, is also 'ready to buy more because obviously we have to balance our exports and yours. And for this, for me, working hard it is possible to reach an agreement. I want to be optimistic because America and Europe are two sides of the same coin'.

The EU Commission has officially put on the table the €72 billion list of counter-duties ready to be triggered in response to the so-called reciprocal US tariffs and tariffs on cars. After the public consultation closed on 10 June, the initial 95 billion package has been scaled down, but - according to the list viewed by ANSA - it retains the star-studded export items: beef and pork, SUVs, pick-up trucks, and Boeing-related aircraft components. Also in the crosshairs is Kentucky's symbolic bourbon. The list is still subject to change, says a diplomatic source, confirming that the examination by the Twenty-Seven will lead to 'further adjustments' before the go-ahead

The European Commission is continuing to negotiate intensively with the United States on the trade tariffs issue, with meetings continuing in these hours. It has prepared a list of new countermeasures in the event of a failure to reach an agreement in principle, but in any case it does not intend to trigger them before the 1 August deadline, the last one set by Washington for reaching a negotiating solution. This was reported by an EU commission spokesman Olof Gill during the mid-day press briefing in Brussels.

"Clearly we think that an agreement in principle is achievable. We focus all our efforts on this" and "if we did not think so" that an agreement is feasible "we would not have made all these efforts", he said.

JpMorgan Chase ended the second quarter with declining earnings and revenues, reflecting a difficult comparison with last year, when the bank reported a one-time profit component. The New York-based bank in the three months ended June reported net income down 17% to $14.99 billion, or $5.24 per share, from $18.15 billion, or $6.12 per share, last year. Net sales were $45.7 billion, down 10%. Net interest income was $23.3 billion, up 2%. Reported revenues fell 11% to $44.9 billion, while managed revenues fell 10% to $45.68 billion. Assets under management rose 18% to $4.3 trillion. "Each business line performed well," commented Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon, noting that "The US economy remained solid in the quarter. The finalisation of tax reform and potential deregulation are positive for the economic outlook, however significant risks persist, including tariffs and trade uncertainty, worsening geopolitical conditions, high fiscal deficits and high asset prices. As always, we hope for the best, but prepare for a wide range of scenarios'.

The holster remains closed, but the shots are counted. Still reeling from an agreement that - by the public admission of chief negotiator Maros Sefcovic - 'seemed close', Europe has opted for a semi-armed truce. The anti-coercion bazooka, evoked for months as a last resort, remains a warning and the second list of counter-demands is taking shape. Albeit lightened with diplomatic care in order to hit the made-in-U.S.A. bigwigs up to 72 billion euro. A 'calibrated' pressure not to blow up the table and, at the same time, not to be caught unprepared by the no deal.

On the other side of the Atlantic, however, Trump marches on without a second thought, relaunching the narrative of the great plunder. "The United States has been robbed by friend and foe, in trade (and military!), for decades," he thundered again, relaunching his promise to "do what's right for America." A lunge blunted later by a hint of the possibility of 'dialogue'.

"I can confirm that Commissioner Sefcovic had a call with the US Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnik, last night. I cannot provide details on that. I can confirm that the Commissioner will have a call with the US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, this evening. I can confirm that technical teams from the European Commission are on their way to Washington DC right now. And I will not go into further details about the negotiations with the United States, because we are in the most delicate phase of those negotiations right now, working to reach an agreement in principle before the US deadline of 1 August'. This was stated by European Commission spokesman Olof Gill in the daily press briefing.

"The second list of countermeasures, which was drawn up by the European Commission and for which we conducted a four-week consultation with member states, stakeholders and industry several weeks ago, was sent to the member states yesterday; they will now have the opportunity to review it," he continued. "What will happen at that point is that the Commission will initiate what we call our standard comitology procedure, which is essentially to listen to the views of the member states. We will present a proposal to the Member States, who will then approve the second list. However, I can tell you that it is not our intention to present countermeasures before 1 August, when the negotiations will continue'.

"The second list of countermeasures" of EUR 72 billion "was sent yesterday to the member states, which will now have the opportunity to examine it. It is not our intention to intervene' with countermeasures 'before 1 August, while negotiations are still ongoing'. This was said by European Commission trade spokesman Olof Gill, pointing out that Brussels and Washington are now in the 'most delicate phase' of the tariffs negotiations. "We are working to reach an agreement before 1 August," he reiterated. The counter-duties procedure, he reminded, 'is in the hands of the European Commission'.

The tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, if confirmed and if they remain in place for a prolonged period, 'pose further risks to financial stability in the EU' with more insolvent companies, the possibility of sharp market corrections and implications for banks' balance sheets. The warning comes from the 2024 report of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB). The ECB-led committee, created in 2010 during the great financial crisis, ranks systemic risks as 'severe', denoting them as 'balance sheet stress' for companies and 'disorderly market corrections' triggered by 'geopolitical and macroeconomic risks'.