The German Finance Ministry called on the EU to conclude new trade agreements against the background of US duties

The duties imposed by the United States are causing serious damage to both the American and global economies. Restrictions lead to higher inflation, slower growth, lower employment and wages, and undermine confidence in global trade. This was announced on April 9 by German Finance Minister Joerg Kukis.

"We have repeatedly said that the duties imposed by the United States are harmful both for the United States and for the rest of the world <...> This is evidenced by the relevant studies of the first round of duties in the first term of [American leader Donald] Trump. The negative effect of them persists to this day," Kukis said in an interview with the German Phoenix TV channel posted on Youtube.

He recalled that the issue of imbalance in trade relations had already been raised in dialogue with previous administrations, including with representatives of the Trump team during his first term.

"The United States, of course, imports more goods than it exports, but on the other hand, in the service sector, the United States exports significantly more than it imports. And if you add these two indicators together, the US trade deficit will be much smaller than what the media sometimes publishes," said Kukis.

The head of the German Finance Ministry said that digital companies in the European Union (EU) express serious concern about the possible introduction of a high tax on digital services. According to him, this is due to the fact that Europe has not yet created its own alternative in the field of artificial intelligence, cloud technologies and other digital infrastructure, which is currently available mainly to American companies. He stressed that in such a situation, Europe will have to make significant efforts to develop its own technological base.

In response to the US duties, the minister proposed to intensify trade cooperation with other regions.

"The most logical reaction of the European Commission to the duties should be the immediate ratification of the already signed Mercosur trade agreement and the resumption of negotiations with Indonesia, India and Malaysia, which have been going on for some time," he said.

Kukis also added that many African and Southeast Asian countries affected by the US tariffs are showing interest in free trade with the EU. In his opinion, if the rest of the world strengthens trade ties with each other, this may harm the economic interests of the United States and force them to adjust their policies.

Trade war: The US increased duties on China to 104%

The Chinese authorities have already announced that they will take drastic measures in response to the tariffs of the American leader.

On the eve of April 8, Trump announced that the US duties imposed bring about $2 billion in profit to the state treasury. In addition, Trump added that more than 70 countries have expressed their willingness to negotiate with the United States on the issue of imposed duties.

On the same day, political analyst Konstantin Kalachev expressed the opinion that the American leader may be trying to break up the EU, including by imposing import duties. According to the expert, the president of the United States is setting very strict conditions for Europe to postpone the introduction of new tariffs in the form of compensation for a trade deficit of $350 billion. According to Kalachev, this could divide the countries of the union.

On April 2, Trump announced large-scale trade measures: base tariffs of 10% are being introduced for all products supplied to the United States. For the EU, this figure has been raised to 20%, and for China — to 34%. On April 4, China imposed duties of 34% against the United States.