Trump Says He’s Open To A Deal With EU After Slapping 30% Tariffs: ‘We’re In A Good Position’

President Donald Trump on Monday said he is open to trade talks with the European Union to arrive at a tariff deal, after slapping 30% tariffs on the bloc’s exports to the U.S. over the weekend.

Talking to reporters at the White House, Trump insisted that the tariff letters he sent to several countries over the past week are “the deals,” according to a Bloomberg report.

However, as far as Europe is concerned, Trump said he “would like to do a different kind of deal.”

“We’re always open to talk. We are open to talk, including to Europe. In fact, they’re coming over. They’d like to talk,” he added.

U.S. equities shrugged off concerns about President Trump escalating the tariff war.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, gained 0.15%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.39%. Stocktwits data shows retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF has been in the ‘bullish’ territory over the past week.

“Literally every country wants to make a deal. We’re in a good position. You would call it a position of strength,” President Trump said.

On the other hand, JPMorgan said in a note that investors expect President Trump to lower tariff rates before the August 1 deadline for their applicability kicks in, according to a CNBC report.

“Will the market continue to look through elevated tariff levels, believing Trump will pivot to lower levels, or any near-term downside is bought going into the Aug 1 deadline? We think Yes and thus maintain our Tactical Bullish view as the market focuses on earnings,” the firm said.

Earlier in the day, European Union’s Trade Commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, asserted that the bloc wants to avoid a trade war with the U.S.

He expressed hope that there is still potential to keep the negotiations going, but warned that President Trump’s tariff letter has “triggered very strong waves in Europe.”

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