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The visit of Trade Commissioner Marosz Szefcovic to the USA did not result in an agreement as we wanted, KE spokesman Olof Gill said on Thursday. He added that it did contribute to strengthening relations with the new US administration.
In recent days, Szefcovic was in the USA where he tried to convince representatives of the new administration that imposing tariffs on the EU is harmful to both sides.
Gill said that the commissioner’s visit allowed for the EU’s arguments on trade issues to be presented again in Washington and “why we think tariffs and retaliatory tariffs are harmful and benefit no one, and why it is in our common interest to find mutually beneficial agreements instead of these types of measures and retaliatory measures.”
“Contacts between the European Union and the US administration are ongoing, and we hope they will lead to the kind of results we are talking about, and not the opposite,” he added.
The Trade Commissioner is currently in China. The talks are about “opportunities” in EU-China trade relations.
“This includes a range of priorities where the European Union wants to make progress, such as reciprocity, transparency, more stable access to Chinese markets under fairer conditions for our companies,” he said, without giving details.
The KE spokesman was also asked about new US announcements of additional tariffs on car imports. Gill called it “an act of economic self-harm by the United States.”
“From today, we will prepare for (…) a proportional, firm, well-calibrated, well-targeted response to any future measures announced by the United States, and the final list of products for which we propose remedies to our member states will be chosen to have maximum impact on the United States and minimize impact on our European economy,” he explained.
However, he did not provide a timeline for when the EU response should be expected. “I can assure you that it will be timely, robust, well-calibrated, and that it will achieve the intended effect,” he concluded.
The US administration announced on Wednesday that on April 2, a 25 percent tariff will be imposed on all imported cars and light trucks. The previous rate was 2.5 percent.
The chairman of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, MEP Bernd Lange (S&D), assessed that “President Trump single-handedly made each new car in the USA significantly more expensive. Under the false pretense of national security and using criteria made out of thin air, President Trump is trying to justify all kinds of illegal and harmful tariff measures, without considering the harmful impact on workers, enterprises, and above all consumers,” he assessed.
In his opinion, “it seems we have to reach escalation before the USA is ready to sit down at the table and negotiate.” “One thing is clear: we will not allow the USA to use coercion against us. We are ready for any option and will respond firmly and strongly. Our remedies for steel and aluminum are not enough. If the USA illegally attacks our core economic interests, the EU should table tariffs on digital services where the USA has a huge surplus (in trade – PAP),” he emphasized.
US tariffs on cars are set to take effect on April 2, along with “reciprocal tariffs” intended to theoretically equalize the tariff rates applied by other countries. Trump described the day as “America’s liberation day.”
The President assessed that this decision will cause foreign companies to increase car production in the USA and others to move their factories there. Tariffs, he added, are expected to bring the budget 100 billion dollars, are “permanent,” and there will be no exemptions from them. (27.03.2025)