The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kallas today questioned the US's basis for imposing new tariffs on European goods that Washington claims are produced with "forced labor", Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The United States announced last night tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on imports from 60 trading partners, arguing that they have not imposed and are not effectively enforcing a ban on goods produced with forced labor.
Among the affected products will be some goods from the European Union, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced. The decision took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time today (7:01 a.m. Bulgarian time).
Kallas said on the sidelines of the 59th meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Philippine capital Manila that allegations of shortcomings in the European bloc's control of forced labor were unfounded.
“This cannot be said about the European Union“, Kallas told Reuters. “If you compare our labor law with that of the United States, we have paid leave, we have very good working conditions for our employees, so this is really not justified,” she noted.
The EU high representative said the bloc would seek clarification from Washington. She drew attention to the fact that the European Union has kept its commitments under a transatlantic trade agreement concluded last year and accepts the “new tariffs as a shock“.
“We had a deal with America and we stuck to that deal, to that side of the deal“, said the former Estonian prime minister. “That is why it is an unpleasant surprise that this agreement is not being respected“, summed up Kaia Kallas.