The Voice News:The European Union (EU) wants to maintain trade relations with the United States based on mutual respect, not threats. This was stated by EU Trade Chief Maroš Šefčovič in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 50% tariff on EU products.
Šefčovič emphasized that the EU seeks a trade agreement that benefits both sides. “There is no comparison to our trade relations with the United States, but it must move forward based on mutual respect, not threats,” he said.
Earlier, frustrated by the slow progress of ongoing EU-U.S. trade talks, Trump declared that he had made a final decision to increase tariffs starting June 1. When asked by journalists, he said, “I don’t want any deal. We’ve already decided what the deal is.” However, he hinted that if a major European company makes a significant investment in the U.S., he might delay the tariff implementation.
The EU is one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners. According to U.S. government data, trade between the two sides amounts to nearly $1 trillion. The U.S. imports goods worth about $600 billion from the EU, while the EU imports approximately $370 billion worth of goods from the U.S.
Naturally, such a large volume of trade would not benefit from increased tariffs. European leaders reminded that imposing such tariffs would have negative consequences.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said, “There’s no need to go down this path (of imposing tariffs). A sustainable solution is possible through dialogue.”
French Foreign Minister Laurent Saint-Martin stated, “Our position remains unchanged—we are in favor of de-escalation. However, we are prepared to respond if necessary.”
German Finance Minister Katharina Reich said, “We must make every effort to reach an understanding with the United States.”
In April of this year, Trump announced tariffs on the EU and several other countries, imposing a 20% tariff on most European products. Although the administration later decided to suspend this additional tariff for three months until July 8, the initial 10% tariff remains in effect.
Tariffs on Chinese goods were also retained, although somewhat reduced. U.S. tariffs of 25% on EU steel and aluminum are still in place.
While the EU has threatened retaliatory measures, those have been temporarily suspended. The suspended plan included a 25% tariff on $20 billion worth of U.S. products.
It’s worth noting that Trump has long criticized the trade deficit with Europe. According to him, the EU exports far more to the U.S. than it imports and maintains policies on agricultural products and automobiles that disadvantage American companies.