US President Donald Trump took everyone by surprise on Friday 23 May when he raised the possibility of imposing an additional 50% tariff on European products starting 1 June. For the time being, he has only “recommended” such a tariff, on his social network Truth and nothing has yet been confirmed. The announcement came just hours before a telephone call between the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later in the day.
At the time of writing, the European Commission had not communicated the outcome of this exchange. Earlier in the day, it had indicated that it was awaiting this telephone call before commenting on the US President’s announcement.
But several ministers from EU Member States had reacted. “Just because we see certain important statements in public opinion does not mean that this is going to translate into action, for example, on the part of the US administration”, stressed the Polish Under-Secretary of State for Economic Development, Michal Baranowski.
However, the announcement is “deeply disappointing”, according to the Irish Prime Minister, Michael Martin. Like him, several Member States reiterated their support for the Commission’s negotiating strategy.
It believes it has put concrete, serious solutions on the negotiating table in a detailed document sent to the Americans. The Europeans reiterated their offer to buy more US goods, including certain non-sensitive agricultural products, to import more gas, to step up cooperation on 5G and 6G or in investigations into Chinese overcapacity.
But Donald Trump said: “Our discussions with them [the Europeans] are going nowhere”.
With 45 days to go before the end of the tariff truce, the two positions remain far apart, and the US side does not seem to want to make a move towards the EU.
If the negotiations fail, the EU cannot envisage a tariff of 20% or, worse still, 50% on European products. In such a case, an extension of the discussions would be a preferable option. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)