Achieve an agreement that allows stop the tariff climbing started by USA Last February it will require “A significant joint effort”has warned the European Commissioner of Commerce, Maroš Šefčovičafter a first round of contacts in Washington this Monday.
After the tariff climb of recent months, last week, United States President Donald Trumpon Thursday a 90 -day pause. This truce actually affects only universal tariffs imposed by its administration to all imports, and It reduces them to 10%, does not eliminate them. But Brussels sees it as An opportunity to negotiate.
As a gesture, the European Commission decided to suspend the first battery of reprisals to which the twenty -seven had approved just a few hours before. This Monday, That suspension has become effective. By then, Šefčovič was already in Washington to take advantage of the “window” and search “a mutual solution to unjustified tariffs. ”
The commissioner has met with the Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnickand Trump’s commercial policy advisor, Jamieson Greer. It is the third time that šefčovič travels to the United States since the commercial war began and, judging by the statement issued on social networks, The panorama has not changed much.
“The EU remains constructive and willing to a fair agreement,” has said ŠEfčovič, who has reiterated the commission’s offer to Eliminate tariffs to imports of industrial products on both sides of the Atlantic. The commissioner has also opened, as he did in the past, to work to eliminate non -tariff barriers to trade between the United States and the Union.
Plan B
The commission has defended from the beginning that privileged a negotiated exit to what he considers “Unjust” and “unjustified” measures. However, previous trips Šefčovič had not only completed without significant advances, but were accompanied by new tariffs. So far this year, the United States has increased tax on imports of steel, aluminum, cars and components in 25%in addition to the so -called global “reciprocal tariffs”, which in the case of the EU amounted to 20%.
Brussels had prepared a Repliation battery that affected hundreds of products from the United States, in response to tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The commission reached delay their presentation And he has decided to suspend it now, and until July 14, after Trump’s suspension announcement. But if the negotiations fail, the president of the European Commission warned last Friday, The countermeasures will come into force.
The community executive estimates that in total, Trump’s tariffs They affect 70% of European exports to the United States. Brussels estimates that the economic impact of tariffs would be approximately 0.2% of the gross domestic product. But if the measures are permanent, and other countries respond with reprisals, 0.6% of GDP could reach. According to commission’s calculations, the impact for the US would be much greater.
