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% tariff on EU goods.
Insisting the EU 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% duty on Apple iPhones manufactured outside the US
“With Trump, you never know, but this would be a major escalation,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg. “The EU would have to react and it is something that would really hurt the US and European economy.”
Unilateral concessions
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.
EU leaders and ministers that spoke after Trump’s announcement broadly backed the European Commission’s approach.
Polish deputy economy minister Michal Baranowski, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said the tariff threat appeared to be a negotiating ploy.
With Trump, you never know, but this would be a major escalation.
— Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg
“The EU and US are negotiating,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels, adding negotiations could last until early July.
“The fact that we see some important statements in the public domain does not mean that they will translate into actions of the US administration,” he said.
Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof said the EU would stick to the path it had chosen.
“We have seen that tariffs can go up and down in talks with the US,” he told reporters in The Hague.
The EU already faces 25% US import tariffs on its steel, aluminium and cars and so-called “reciprocal” tariffs of 10% for almost all other goods, a levy that was due to rise to 20% after Trump’s 90-day pause expires on July 8.
French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said Trump’s new threats did nothing to help negotiations.
“We are maintaining the same line: de-escalation, but we are ready to respond,” he wrote on X.
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani told Italian news agency ANSA that the aim remained “zero-for-zero tariffs”.
Trade deficit
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 by adopting US food safety standards and removing national digital services taxes, according to people familiar with the paper.
The fact that we see some important statements in the public domain does not mean that they will translate into actions of the US administration.
— Michal Baranowski, Polish deputy economy minister
The EU response has been to offer a mutually beneficial deal that could include both sides moving to zero tariffs on industrial goods, the EU potentially buying more liquefied natural gas and soya beans and co-operation on issues such as steel overcapacity, which both sides blame on China.
The Sefcovic-US call was planned as a follow-up to these exchanges and ahead of a possible early June meeting in Paris.
Robert Sockin, senior global economist at Citigroup, said he believed Trump was seeking to bring the EU to the table.
“With a 50% tariff, there would be a recessionary forecast for Europe, but I am doubtful it would be enacted,” he said.
Washington said the tariffs were designed to redress the US deficit in goods trade with the EU, which was almost €200bn last year, according to EU 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.
The bloc put in place, but then suspended, duties on €21bn of annual US imports in response to the US metals tariffs and has compiled a list of €95bn of US goods as countermeasures to the US ‘reciprocal’ and car tariffs. Reuters
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