EU claims U.S. tariffs are 'absolutely unacceptable,' warns of countermeasures

The EU is no exception when it comes to U.S. tariff threats.

But the union says it won't be hesitant to take countermeasures against the U.S. if a mutual agreement isn't sealed by the August 1st deadline.

Park Jun-han has the details.

Beginning with South Korea and Japan, the United States' tariff letters have now been "sent" to 25 countries as of Tuesday, including major trading partners like the European Union and Mexico.

Following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement last Saturday that he would impose 30% tariffs on EU products, the European Union on Monday called the move "absolutely unacceptable and unjustified," warning that countermeasures will be taken against the U.S. if a mutual agreement is not reached by the new August 1st tariffs deadline.

"Today we discussed the state of play and prospects for EU-US trade relations, including possible EU countermeasures, which, I must say, member states find absolutely unacceptable and unjustified."

President Trump insisted that the letters he wrote on tariff rates constitute "the deals" with U.S. trading partners.

Trump, however, left the door open for further trade discussions, despite the fact that the recently proposed tariffs are higher than most had anticipated.

Also, when speaking at the White House on Monday during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump told reporters, "The deals are already made."

"The letters are the deals. The deals are made. There are no deals to make. They would like to do a different kind of a deal, and we're always open to talk. We are open to talk, including to Europe."

With a new deadline, a new phase of negotiations is expected to begin, possibly leading to a trade war involving retaliatory measures.

And global markets are keeping a close eye on how the new negotiations are progressing.

South Korea is under pressure to secure a deal, possibly weighing options of opening its agricultural markets to the U.S.

In Germany, fears over new tariffs are growing, as trade with the U.S. plays a significant role in the export industry, while Italy's wine producers are seeking new markets in Asia and Africa.

Park Jun-han, Arirang News.