The European Union appears to be shelving its previous belligerent rhetoric about hitting back at President Trump’s tariffs, announcing the intent to pursue negotiations instead, with one big gesture right away: offering to slash EU tariffs in exchange for Washington doing the same.
“We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trading partners,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference on Monday, April 7th. “Because Europe is always ready for a good deal. So we keep it on the table.”
We stand ready to negotiate with the U.S.
The move comes after the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on steel, aluminum, and cars, as well as a sweeping 20% “reciprocal” tariff on other goods to rectify its trade deficit. Together, these account for some 70% of the EU’s exports to the U.S., worth over €530 billion.
Upon the announcement, the EU immediately began to talk about retaliation and floated immediate countermeasures starting with tariffs on $28 billion worth of U.S. imports that was expected to be announced on Monday, once the Commission had confirmed that member states were behind the strategy.
Turns out, they weren’t. At a meeting between EU trade ministers in Luxembourg earlier on Monday, the officials agreed on “negotiating mutually acceptable solutions” as their preferred approach, rather than going on the offensive.
Chairing the meeting on behalf of the EU Council’s Polish presidency, Undersecretary for Trade Michał Baranowski underlined:
The EU deeply regrets the new U.S. tariffs and remains committed to dialogue, seeking a negotiated solution acceptable for both sides.
After the meeting, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič explained that Brussels’ “zero-for-zero” offer would primarily cover U.S.-made cars—on which the EU currently has a 10% tariff—as well as a slew of other industrial goods, such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, rubber, and plastic machinery.
At the same time, both the Commission and the Council signaled preparedness to play tough if Washington refuses to negotiate. The Council’s communication specifically mentions imposing “proportionate countermeasures if needed,” while Šefčovič added that the Commission has already compiled “a robust list” of goods that could be targeted.
For now, however, ‘punching the schoolyard bully in the nose’—as one EU official (wrongly) predicted the EU strategy before the ministers met—has been delayed.
