EU is 'prepared for every scenario' as Trump threatens higher car tariffs
The European Union "is prepared for every scenario", European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday, in the wake of US president Donald Trump's threat to raise tariffs on European cars to 25 per cent.
Von der Leyen and Trump had concluded a trade agreement in July, following the US's unilateral imposition of trade tariffs. Under that deal, US tariffs on European products were capped at 15 per cent. US Trade representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC on Monday that the US considers a tariff increase justified because the EU has not fulfilled any of its commitments and the European Parliament has added amendments to the agreement.
Von der Leyen pushed back on Tuesday, stressing that the EU has begun implementing the deal and will continue to do so. "A deal is a deal," she said after the EU-Armenia summit. "We are applying the agreement, with respect for democratic procedures on both sides. The EU is in final stages of implementing the remaining tariff commitments."
Anti-coercion measures on the table
Von der Leyen did not specify what measures the EU might take, but a spokesperson confirmed on Monday that no options had been ruled out. The EU had previously drawn up a list of products worth around 100 billion euros on which it could impose retaliatory tariffs.
French president Emmanuel Macron, speaking at a press conference in Yerevan during a state visit to Armenia, called on the EU to activate its anti-coercion instruments.
"Agreements have been signed and must be honored; if they were called into question, it would reopen everything," he said. "And if a country is threatened with fresh tariffs, the EU has the tools to respond, and should use them, because that’s what they are for."
Meanwhile, negotiations are continuing behind the scenes. Greer is meeting European commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic in Paris on Tuesday.
PHOTO © Ludovic MARIN / AFP
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