BERLIN — The EU’s trade chief said on Tuesday that some of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric was unhelpful while she was trying to make progress in tariff talks and said the bloc would have to respond if Washington imposed tariffs on EU cars.
The EU is trying to avert a tariff war with the U.S. and Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom stressed that the two sides were still only at an early stage in talks, working on issues such as how to cooperate on regulations.
Asked by Germany’s Deutschlandfunk radio about comments made by Trump on the EU taking advantage of the U.S., she said: “We have just started to discuss what sort of a trade agreement would be most advantageous for both sides. Such rhetoric is anything but helpful.”
“If the United States slam 25 percent EU auto tariffs on the table, we cannot simply stand by and watch. Then we will have to react. I hope that won’t happen,” she added, declining to set a deadline for the conclusion of talks.
Trump agreed in July to hold back on a threatened 25 percent import tariff on EU cars while the two sides discussed removing trade barriers, including duties on industrial goods.
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