BRUSSELS, July 14 (Reuters) - European Union ministers agreed on Monday to prioritise negotiations with the United States to avoid threatened 30% tariffs that the EU trade chief said would wreck transatlantic trade.

US President Donald Trump has announced that all imports from the EU and Mexico will have a 30% tariff as of August 1. He sent letters to EU President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum informing them of the new rates, which were also posted on his Truth Social account on Saturday.