EU trade chief calls for ‘mutual respect’ after Trump tariff threats
The EU’s trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said the bloc will secure a trade deal with the US in “good faith” guided by “mutual respect, not threats”.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to slap 50 per cent tariffs on all EU goods sent to the United States.
After a call with US trade representative Jamieson Greer and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, Mr Sefcovic said on Friday night the 27-member union was “fully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both”.
“EU-US trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats,” he wrote in a post on X.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
On Friday, Mr Trump claimed the talks were “going nowhere” and said he was recommending that the 50 per cent tariff rate come into effect on June 1.
Shares fell in the US, EU and UK following Mr Trump’s latest threats on tariffs.
Irish Premier Micheal Martin said the move by Mr Trump had come as a “surprise”, noting that the EU was engaging in “good faith” with the United States to agree a deal on trade.
The president also announced he would be imposing a 25% tariff on all Apple iPhones manufactured outside the US. He warned that tariffs were also coming for other foreign-manufactured smartphones.
Mr Martin warned of the consequences if such levels of tariffs were imposed.
“This is a surprise, because there was a pause until early July,” he told RTE.
“Everybody in the European Union is acting in good faith and wants a negotiated settlement with the United States.
“The trading relationship between the European Union and the United States is the most dynamic and largest in the world, so tariffs of that height or scale would be extremely disruptive and would create even wider disruption across the global economy.”
By Jessica Coates and David Young, PA