The European Union has not yet responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest trade actions, which include a 20 percent “reciprocal” tariff on all EU exports that took effect Wednesday, as well as a newly implemented 25 percent tariff on European automobiles. Trump has also indicated that pharmaceutical products will soon face additional tariffs, according to reporting.
In response, the European Commission is preparing potential countermeasures, which could be unveiled as early as next week. “It will for sure be soon. I expect it could be as early as next week,” said Commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill on Tuesday. More details on the EU’s planned response are available here.
President Trump has repeatedly called on the EU to reduce its trade surplus with the United States, suggesting methods such as purchasing unusually large volumes of American natural gas or loosening car safety regulations to accommodate more U.S. vehicle imports. Learn more about these proposals blank”>here and blank”>here.
While the EU does maintain a trade surplus in goods, the U.S. holds a surplus in services. Overall, the transatlantic trade imbalance remains relatively modest at around €50 billion within a total €1.3 trillion economic relationship.
In an effort to ease tensions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has renewed a proposal for a mutual elimination of industrial tariffs — commonly referred to as a “zero-for-zero” arrangement. That initiative aims to remove all industrial duties on both sides and is viewed as a potential pathway to de-escalate the current trade dispute. More on that proposal here.
Leave a Reply