EU agrees to Trump’s demand: Tariffs on cars and goods to be reduced, media reports
Photo: US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
The European Commission will this week present a proposal to lift US tariffs, including on cars and agricultural products. The move is aimed at helping avoid new trade tensions with US President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reports.
Sources told the media outlet that the European Commission, which handles trade matters on behalf of the EU, will grant preferential tariff rates on certain seafood and agricultural goods.
The EU acknowledged that the trade deal struck with Trump favors the United States, but emphasized that the agreement is necessary to ensure business stability and predictability.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier described it as “a strong, if not perfect deal.”
The move comes despite Trump’s threats to impose tariffs and other sanctions against countries that tax online services, without specifying which countries he would target or whether the EU would be included.
Trump has long opposed the EU’s tech and antitrust regulations affecting American tech giants, including Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Apple Inc.
Cars and auto parts from the EU currently face a 27.5% export tariff to the United States. Although the US and the EU signed a trade agreement that provides for cutting US tariffs on nearly all European goods to 15%, Trump stated this would not apply to cars until legislation eliminating industrial and other duties is introduced.
According to the report, if the EU proposes such legislation by the end of the month, the 15% tariff rate on European cars will be applied retroactively from August 1. Cars are one of the bloc’s most important exports to the United States, with Germany alone exporting $34.9 billion worth of new cars and parts to the US in 2024.
On August 21, the United States and the European Union finalized a trade agreement reached last month. It includes a 15% US tariff on most European goods, including cars, medicines, semiconductors, and wood.
Meanwhile, Trump has not ruled out tariffs on imported furniture. Previously, he has either imposed or threatened tariffs on other goods, including pharmaceuticals, cars, electronics, and many more imported products.
This past weekend, EU postal services stopped sending one category of parcels to the United States.
