Washington tells EU to brace for more tariffs before negotiations

Brussels — Washington has told the EU it should not expect any trade negotiations before the US has imposed more tariffs on the bloc next week, EU diplomats said on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has already imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, plans an additional 25% duty on car imports and intends to announce reciprocal tariffs next Wednesday aimed at the countries he says are responsible for the bulk of the US goods trade deficit.

European trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic met US counterparts in Washington this week and EU envoys said commission officials briefed them on the visit late on Wednesday.

The commission has tried to launch negotiations to avert additional tariffs, but Washington’s message was that no negotiations would happen until further US tariffs are imposed, the envoys said.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the reciprocal tariffs might be as high as 25%, but the level was still not certain.

“It’s just a guess,” one of the sources said.

Washington has five sectors it wants to boost domestically: autos, pharmaceuticals, timber, semiconductors and metals.

In Europe, Washington has been closely eying competition in autos and pharmaceuticals. US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will announce tariffs on automobiles, aluminium and pharmaceuticals in the very near future.

The European Commission has proposed countermeasures on up to $28-billion of US imports as a response to Trump’s metals tariffs. These are likely to be imposed in mid-April. One diplomat said the commission would present its final countermeasures on April 4.

The commission said on Thursday it was preparing its response to the new car import duties, but did not provide any timing.

“But I can assure you that it will be timely, that it will be robust, that it will be well calibrated and that it will achieve the intended impact,” a spokesperson said.

Reuters