European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday denied US President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on European cars, warning Washington to abide by the terms of its trade deal with Brussels.
Speaking for the first time since Trump’s Friday ad that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on EU-made cars, von der Leyen made it clear that “a deal is a deal.”
“We have a plan, and the essence of this plan is prosperity, common law and reliability,” he said during a press conference at the EU-Armenia summit in Yerevan.
While the EU is in the “final stages of implementing the remaining tariff commitments,” the Commission president added, “the United States has a commitment … where compromise and an agreed limit are still better.”
He also emphasized that the camp is “prepared for every situation.”
During the press conference, European Council President António Costa said EU leaders “fully support” the Commission’s response to Trump’s latest trade threat.
French President Emmanuel Macron made clear the support in a separate press conference in Yerevan with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
“The agreement has been signed and must be respected; if it were to be questioned, it would reopen everything,” he said. “And if a country is threatened with new tariffs, the EU has the tools to respond, and it should use them, because that’s what they are used for.”
Macron added that even though options are “on the table,” close allies like Brussels and Washington “have better things to do than surround the threat of instability.”
of Trump recent tax threats marked a sharp escalation in the tumultuous trade relationship between Washington and Brussels.
His announcement came after EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič visited Washington and spoke The Turnberry Agreement has remained the same.
Under the terms of the agreement he hit Last July, US tariffs on European cars were set at 15 percent. In exchange, Brussels agreed to reduce industrial tariffs, buy $750 billion of American energy and invest $600 billion in the American economy.
Following Friday’s shock announcement, the Commission initially avoided confronting Trump directly, saying only that the EU would “keep his/her options clear.” The spokesman added that the bloc is implementing the agreement “according to normal rules” and keeping Washington informed.
Šefčovič was derived from to meet US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was in Paris on Tuesday in a new attempt at adequate negotiations after Trump’s threat of tariffs destabilized the transatlantic trade relationship.
Clea Caulcutt contributed reporting.
