President Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs on cars imported from the European Union if U.S. talks with the bloc don’t yield a new trade deal.
This story appeared in Automotive News.
Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday that talks are ongoing and EU representatives are tough negotiators.
“If we don’t make the deal, we’ll do the tariffs,” Trump said. “We’re trying to make a deal. They’re very tough to make a deal with, the EU.”
Earlier this week, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Trump, known for a strong protectionist approach to trade, had promised he would not impose additional import tariffs on European cars for the time being.
But a confidential Commerce Department report sent to the president over the weekend was widely expected to clear the way for him to threaten tariffs of up to 25 percent on imported autos and auto parts by designating the imports as a national security threat.
Trump on Wednesday downplayed the report, calling it a study.
On Monday the EU said that it will stick to its word not to impose new tariffs, as long as the U.S. does the same. The 28-nation bloc is readying retaliatory tariffs totaling $22.7 billion of U.S. goods should Trump follow through on his threat to impose duties on EU cars and auto parts.
Negotiations for a trade agreement have not officially started and the two sides are still at odds over the scope any deal would take.
