Von der Leyen responds to Draghi and defends the EU-US tariff agreement

Published on 24/08/2025 - 16:34 GMT+2

The president of nan European Commission intervened pinch an article connected Sunday successful respective European newspapers, including nan Italian IlSole24ore and nan German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which indirectly provides a consequence to nan disapproval of nan EU's "absence" connected duties and wars made by erstwhile ECB main and Italian PM Mario Draghi connected Friday.

"Much has been written astir this agreement, considerations that merit a nonstop response," von der Leyen based on in nan Italian newspaper, "imagine for a infinitesimal if nan 2 largest economies successful nan antiauthoritarian world had grounded to scope an statement and had started a waste and acquisition war. This would person been celebrated only successful Moscow and Beijing".

Regarding nan 15 per cent headdress connected US tariffs connected a scope of products - from cars to pharmaceuticals, from semiconductors to timber - nan Commission leader said of a "good, if not cleanable agreement", while recalling really tariffs are "taxes that load consumers and businesses", expanding "costs, trim prime and undermine nan competitiveness of economies".

Flurry of waste and acquisition agreements

The statement pinch nan Trump management besides grants different waste and acquisition guarantees to Europe, continued von der Leyen, who assured nevertheless really nan EU is seeking to diversify its export markets.

"We person precocious concluded waste and acquisition agreements pinch Mexico and Mercosur and deepened relations pinch Switzerland and nan UK. And we person concluded our talks pinch Indonesia and purpose to scope an statement pinch India by nan extremity of nan year", wrote nan president.

In conclusion, von der Leyen called for a "strong and independent" Europe, urging it to "complete nan azygous market" and "strengthen competitiveness and sustainability".

For his part, Mario Draghi had warned astatine nan yearly Rimini Meeting, a awesome arena successful nan Italian governmental calendar, connected Friday: "For years, nan European Union believed that its economical size, pinch 450 cardinal consumers, brought pinch it geopolitical powerfulness and power successful world waste and acquisition relations. This twelvemonth will beryllium remembered arsenic nan twelvemonth successful which this illusion evaporated,"

Last year, Draghi presented a report pinch ideas to ramp up nan EU's economical growth, underlining nan necessity to accommodate if nan bloc is to survive.