Since mid-March, the US has implemented tariffs of 25% on EU steel and aluminium, 25% on EU cars, and 10% on all other EU imports. Despite some progress in negotiations, the EU is signaling that expectations for a full rollback should be tempered, according to Matthias Jørgensen, an EU official, speaking to members of the European Parliament on Thursday.
“As the negotiations with the U.S. gather pace, doubts are raised about the extent of concessions achievable,” said Jørgensen, “With these tariffs, the U.S. thinks it has evened the playing field. It’s very possible that we do not get rid of all the tariffs, then we might have to rebalance on our side.”
“It is clear from our discussions with the Commission that it will be difficult to go below 10% U.S. tariffs,” a European diplomat told reporters. Michal Baranowski, Poland’s economic undersecretary of state, echoed this sentiment: “We would have a very hard time in the council with 10% tariffs.”
“What is encouraging is that we are engaging actively both at expert and political levels,” said EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. He described a recent call with US trade secretary Howard Lutnick as “constructive” and confirmed both sides agreed to intensify talks at the technical level.
