Vietnam and the European Union signed a free trade deal reducing tariffs on goods of 99 percent traded between the southeastern state and the Union. The deal will boost Vietnams economy by around 5 percent until 2024-2028.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom says the US tariffs are "illegal" and contravene World Trade Organization rules. She vows to take retaliatory action to protect European interests and jobs.
Under the plan, companies including Google and Facebook with significant digital revenues in Europe will pay a 3 percent tax of their turnover on various online services in the EU, generating an estimated $6.1 billion a year.
The blow by Brussels came hours after Trump's trade offensive brought the resignation of his top economic advisor Gary Cohn, an influential ex-Goldman Sachs banker who fiercely opposed the measures.
The World Trade Organization failed to reach any new agreements on Wednesday, ending a three-day ministerial conference in discord in the face of stinging US criticism of the group and vetoes from other countries.
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