Following new tariff threats from US President Donald Trump, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will hold talks with his American counterpart in Paris on Tuesday.
The EU's desire here will be cooperation and trade with the US. But the EU is ready if the US wants to escalate the simmering trade conflict. This is what EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made clear ahead of the meeting.
- We are prepared for all scenarios, says von der Leyen at a press conference in connection with the EU-Armenia summit in Yerevan on Tuesday.
Trump announced on Friday that he will raise US tariffs on cars and trucks from the EU to 25 percent. If so, this will hit the already struggling European car industry in Germany, among others, hard.
In this context, Trump accused the EU of not complying with the customs agreement that was concluded last summer. The EU has not yet finished implementing the agreement, but it will happen, von der Leyen said on Tuesday.
- An agreement is an agreement. And we have an agreement. The essence of it is growth, common rules and reliability. Now both parties are implementing it, von der Leyen said.
Von der Leyen: The US also needs to implement parts of the agreement
However, there have been concerns in Brussels that the lengthy approval process in the EU, which also requires the green light from the EU Parliament, will test Trump's patience. Von der Leyen maintains, however, that the US also needs to implement parts of the agreement.
- Now both parties are implementing the agreement, while respecting the different democratic procedures that we have on both sides. On the EU side, we are implementing the remaining customs obligations. At the same time, the US has obligations, says von der Leyen.
The question now is whether the parties can find a solution or whether Trump may be on the way to escalating the tariffs, which in recent weeks have been overshadowed by the US war in Iran and rising energy prices.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told the US television station CNBC on Monday that the EU has not yet adjusted its tariffs or rules despite the agreement.
- They have tabled a bill on tariffs in the EU Parliament. It has been very slow, said Jamieson Greer.
That is why Trump's patience has now run out, Greer said:
- After discussing this with our European colleagues for many, many months, the president decided that if the Europeans do not implement the agreement right now, then we do not have to fully implement it at this time, Greer told CNBC on Monday.
/ritzau/
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