EU willing to scrap tariffs on all industrial products in its trade talks with US
Politico reports that Brussels is willing to scrap tariffs on all industrial products, including cars, in its trade talks with the United States, EU trade chief Cecilia Malmström said Thursday.
“We said that we are ready from the EU side to go to zero tariffs on all industrial goods, of course if the U.S. does the same, so it would be on a reciprocal basis,” Malmström told the European Parliament’s trade committee.
We are willing to bring down even our car tariffs down to zero … if the U.S. does the same,” she said, adding that “it would be good for us economically, and for them.”
Malmström’s comment went beyond what was agreed in July in the joint statement between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and U.S. President Donald Trump, which only mentioned eliminating tariffs, non-tariff barriers and subsidies for “non-auto industrial goods.”
Brussels and Washington are holding preparatory trade talks to define the scope of a potential future agreement. During a first meeting in Washington last week, an EU proposal for including cars in the discussions was rejected by the U.S., POLITICO reported Thursday.
