Trump’s Trade War Is ‘Wake-up Call’ for Europe, Lagarde Says 

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde looks on as she speaks to the media following the Governing Council's monthly monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, March 6, 2025. (Reuters)
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde looks on as she speaks to the media following the Governing Council's monthly monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, March 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump’s Trade War Is ‘Wake-up Call’ for Europe, Lagarde Says 

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde looks on as she speaks to the media following the Governing Council's monthly monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, March 6, 2025. (Reuters)
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde looks on as she speaks to the media following the Governing Council's monthly monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, March 6, 2025. (Reuters)

A full-scale global trade war would hurt the United States in particular and could re-energize Europe's push towards unity, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Friday.

The US has imposed a raft of tariffs on friends and foes alike and threatened even more measures, prompting retaliation from most and raising concern that global growth could take a major hit.

"If we were to go to a real trade war, where trade would be dampened significantly, that would have severe consequences," Lagarde told BBC's HARDTalk program. "It would have severe consequences for growth around the world and for prices around the world, but particularly in the United States."

However, these tensions could also have the positive side effect of giving European unity another push, Lagarde argued.

"You know what it's doing at the moment? Stirring European energy. It's a big wake-up call for Europe. Maybe this is a European moment, yet again," she said.

The European Commission and Germany, the bloc's biggest economy, have already announced increased spending on defense and infrastructure, ending years of reluctance to spend, Lagarde argued.

This "collective waking up" also appears to include the UK, which left the European Union, as it's taking part in Europe's security effort, Lagarde argued.

Many of the EU's large scale efforts to deepen unity have been stalled for the better part of the last decade and former ECB chief Mario Draghi delivered a scathing report on the European project last year.

Leaders, however, have taken few if any steps to implement Draghi's reform proposals, even as the bloc is barely growing now and Germany suffered two straight years to economic contraction.



US Treasury Chief Sees 100 Countries Getting 10% Reciprocal Tariff

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the US Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass US President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 27, 2025. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the US Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass US President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Treasury Chief Sees 100 Countries Getting 10% Reciprocal Tariff

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the US Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass US President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 27, 2025. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the US Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass US President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 27, 2025. (Reuters)

About 100 countries are likely to see a reciprocal tariff rate of 10%, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday, adding that he expects "a flurry" of trade deals announced before a July 9 deadline that could see tariff rates increase sharply.

"We'll see how the President wants to treat those who are negotiating, whether he's happy that they're negotiating in good faith," Bessent told Bloomberg Television.

"I think that we're going to see about 100 countries who just get the minimum 10% reciprocal tariff and we'll go from there. So I think we're going to see a lot of action over the coming days," Bessent said.

If 10% tariffs were given to 100 countries, that would be fewer than originally envisioned by the Trump administration.

Its original reciprocal tariff list showed 123 jurisdictions that were given a 10% tariff rate - mostly small countries, along with some territories like Australia's uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands.

Trump in April temporarily reduced the tariff rate for most countries to 10% to allow time for negotiations.

Many countries with an initial 10% duty rate have not had any negotiations with the Trump administration, with the exception of Britain, which reached a deal in May to keep a 10% rate and won preferential treatment for some sectors including autos and aircraft engines.

Major trading partners now involved in negotiations with the US could see much higher tariff rates, including 20% for the European Union, 26% for India and 24% for Japan. Other countries that have not engaged in trade talks with the Trump administration face even higher reciprocal tariffs, including 50% for Lesotho, 47% for Madagascar and 36% for Thailand.

Trump on Wednesday announced an agreement with Vietnam that he said cuts US tariffs on many Vietnamese goods to 20% from his previously threatened 46%, with many US products claimed to be allowed to enter Vietnam duty free.