EU urges respect, not threats, as Trump pushes for 50% tariff
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-percent 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-U.S. 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-percent duty on Apple iPhones manufactured outside the United States.
‘Major escalation’
“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 U.S. and European economy.”
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.
“The European Union and the United States 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-percent US import tariffs on its steel, aluminium and cars and so-called “reciprocal” tariffs of 10 percent for almost all other goods, a levy that was due to rise to 20 percent after Trump’s 90-day pause expires on July 8.
