The European Commission (EC) is ready to reduce tariffs on US products by 80 billion euros to avoid a trade war with the US, reports the French magazine Le Point, citing a source.
According to the publication, negotiations with the US are being led by European Commissioner for Trade Policy and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič. His task is to reach a trade agreement with the US before the NATO summit in The Hague on July 24.
The US administration is practically “not going to give anything in return“. In this way, Washington will receive privileged access to the European market, “without weakening the stifling tariffs on exports of goods from Europe“. EC President Ursula von der Leyen can initial this deal, but it must be approved by EU member states. The authors of the article doubt that a sufficient number of EU countries will dare to oppose these conditions, but argue that the agreement could also be informal.
One of the main supporters of the concessions is German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as Germany fears losing access to the American market for its automotive industry due to the trade war.
In addition, the EC, wishing to normalize trade relations with the United States, is negotiating the purchase of large quantities of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) and nuclear fuel. This could make Europe dependent on Washington and completely undermine its “energy sovereignty“, which the EU has been constantly talking about lately.
US President Donald Trump initially stated that due to the complexity of trade negotiations with the EU, he planned to introduce 50% tariffs on imports from EU countries from June 1. At the same time, he recalled that European companies would not have to pay any tariffs if they produced their products in the US. According to the president, one of the main goals of the creation of the EU is to gain an advantage over the US in trade. However, on May 26, Trump announced that he had agreed to postpone the introduction of 50% trade tariffs on imports from EU countries from June 1 to July 9.