The European Union on Monday said it is preparing “countermeasures” against the United States after the Trump administration’s surprise tariffs on steel rattled global markets and complicated the ongoing, wider tariff negotiations between Brussels and Washington.

Last week, ahead of Friday’s surprise announcement, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to “accelerate talks” on a deal.

“In the event that our negotiations do not lead to a balanced outcome, the EU is prepared to impose countermeasures, including in response to this latest tariff increase,” European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill told a press conference in Brussels.

He said the EU is finalizing an expanded list of countermeasures that would automatically take effect on July 14 or earlier. That’s the date when a 90-day pause, intended to ease negotiations, ends in tariffs announced by the two economic powerhouses on each other. About halfway through that grace period, Trump announced a 50% tariffs on steel imports.

Trump’s return to the White House has come with an unrivaled barrage of tariffs, with levies threatened, added and, often, taken away. Top officials at the EU’s executive commission says they’re pushing hard for a trade deal to avoid a 50% tariff on imported goods.

Negotiations will continue on Wednesday in Paris in a meeting between the EU’s top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefcovic, and his counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The EU could buy more liquefied natural gas and defense items from the U.S., and lower duties on cars, but it isn’t likely to budge on calls to scrap the value added tax — which is akin to a sales tax — or open up the EU to American beef.

The EU has offered the U.S. a “zero for zero” outcome in which tariffs would be removed on both sides for industrial goods including autos. Trump has dismissed that, but EU officials have said it’s still on the table.

The announcement Friday of a staggering 50% levy on steel imports stoked fear that big-ticket purchases from cars to washing machines to houses could see major price increases. But those metals are also so ubiquitous in packaging that they’re likely to pack a punch across consumer products.

— Associated Press

China, U.S. talk tough on trade truce

China criticized the U.S. on Monday over moves it alleges have harmed Chinese interests, including issuing AI chip export control guidelines, stopping the sale of chip design software to China, and planning to revoke Chinese student visas.

“These practices seriously violate the consensus,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement, referring to a China-U.S. joint statement in which the United States and China agreed to slash their massive recent tariffs, restarting stalled trade between the world’s two biggest economies.

The deal lasts 90 days, creating time for U.S. and Chinese negotiators to reach a more substantive agreement. But the pause also leaves tariffs higher than before Trump started ramping them up last month. And businesses and investors must contend with uncertainty about whether the truce will last.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. agreed to drop the 145% tax Trump imposed last month to 30%. China agreed to lower its tariff rate on U.S. goods to 10% from 125%.

The Commerce Ministry said China held up its end of the deal, canceling or suspending tariffs and non-tariff measures taken against the U.S. “reciprocal tariffs” following the agreement.

Trump stirred further controversy Friday, saying he will no longer be nice with China on trade, declaring in a social media post that the country had broken an agreement with the United States.

Hours later, Trump said in the Oval Office that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and “hopefully we’ll work that out,” while still insisting China had violated the agreement.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Chinese were “just slow rolling the deal,” adding that Trump would “work it out” with Xi.

Campbell’s sees gain as more eating at home

The Campbell’s Co. said Monday it saw stronger sales of broth and condensed soup in its latest quarter as more Americans cooked their meals at home.

“Consumers continue to cook at home and focus their spending on products that help them stretch their food budgets,” Campbell’s President and CEO Mick Beekhuizen said during a conference call with investors.

Beekhuizen said Campbell’s saw the highest level of meals cooked at home since early 2020 in its fiscal third quarter, which ended April 27. Campbell’s noted sales of its broths rose 15% during the quarter while sales of its Rao’s pasta sauces were up 2%.

But Campbell’s said sales of its snacks fell 4% during the quarter.

Stock trading resumes in Damascus

Trading resumed on the Damascus Securities Exchange on Monday after a six-month closure, as Syria’s new leaders attempt to shore up the country’s battered economy and begin rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war.

The stock exchange had closed during the chaotic days leading up to the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive.

The move to reopen comes as international restrictions on Syria’s financial systems begin to ease. The United States and Europe both last month announced the lifting of sanctions that had been slapped on Syria under the Assad dynasty’s rule.

— From news services