Senior German politicians expect the United States to delay tariffs

A senior German politician said on Sunday that the European Union and Washington could hold off on further talks to raise import tariffs after US President Donald Trump threatened to escalate the trade war by raising tariffs on the European Union. "The negotiating poker game between the European Union and the US is entering a decisive phase," said Ju ̈ rgen Hart, deputy leader of the conservative CDU/CSU in the Bundestag. "My bet is that at least a partial agreement will be reached before August 1 and further delays. After all, high tariffs have to be paid by US citizens and companies, which will lead to higher prices and inflation in the US." Mr. Hart said Europe had to dissuade Mr. Trump from "mistakenly believing" that the United States' trade deficit was caused by protectionist measures by the European Union. He said the United States had a surplus in services because of the dominance of the IT sector, which largely offset the trade deficit.