Brussels: The European Commission urged the US on Friday to bring respect, not threats, to trade talks after President Donald Trump pushed for a 50 per cent tariff on EU goods.
Insisting the European Union was committed to securing a deal that worked for both sides, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic spoke with US trade representative Jamieson Greer and US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick. Trump had recommended higher tariffs on the EU from June 1.
The European Commission, which oversees trade policy for the 27 nation bloc, remained ready to work in good faith, Sefcovic said. “EU-US trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats. We stand ready to defend our interests,” he wrote in a post on X.
Major stock indices tumbled, the dollar fell against major currencies and the euro pared gains after Trump’s announcement on EU tariffs and a potential 25 per cent duty on Apple iPhones manufactured outside the US.
The tariff threat comes as talks are stuck, with Washington demanding unilateral concessions from Brussels to open up to US business while the EU seeks an agreement in which both sides could gain, according to people familiar with the talks.
The EU already faces 25 per cent US import tariffs on its steel, aluminium and cars; And so-called “reciprocal” tariffs of 10 per cent for almost all other goods, a levy that was due to rise to 20 per cent after Trump’s 90-day pause expires on July 8.
In the past week, Washington has sent Brussels a list of demands to reduce the US goods trade deficit, including so-called non-tariff barriers, such as adopting US food safety standards and removing national digital services taxes, according to people familiar with the paper.
The EU response has been to offer a mutually beneficial deal that could include both sides moving to zero tariffs on industrial goods, with the EU potentially buying more liquefied natural gas.
Washington says the tariffs are designed to redress the US deficit in goods trade with the EU, which was almost 200 billion euros ($226.48 billion) last year, according to the statistics agency Eurostat. But the US does have a large trade surplus with the EU in services. The European Commission has repeatedly said it preferred a negotiated solution, but is ready to wield countermeasures if negotiations fail.
Goyal meets Sefcovic
Piyush Goyal has met Sefcovic in Brussels, their second
meeting within a month, to discuss the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), currently under negotiation between the two regions.
Goyal travelled to Brussels on May 23 from Washington, while India’s chief negotiator
L Satya Srinivas and his
team are already at the EU headquarters for the FTA
negotiations.
These deliberations assume significance as India and the EU are looking at
concluding the talks for an early harvest trade agreement by July.
The agreement could include issues such as intellectual property rights (IPRs), government procurement, tariffs, and non-tariff barriers.
Reuters and PTI