Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he “is not very optimistic“ about the possibility of the European Union reaching an optimal customs agreement with the US.
“I am not very optimistic. American tariffs could have a huge negative impact on car production in EU countries and related production in Slovakia“, the prime minister said at a meeting with journalists. He recalled that the EU-US tariff agreement is expected to be signed by July 9. Commenting on the situation, the Prime Minister said that a special meeting of the government of the republic will be held on July 4 to discuss the consequences for the national automotive industry of the introduction of the expected US tariffs. Slovakia, as the media note, is one of the largest car manufacturers in Europe. The republic is home to factories of the world's leading car manufacturers. A significant part of the cars produced in the country are intended for the American market. The contribution of the automotive industry to Slovakia's GDP is about 10%.