EU calls on Trump to engage in ‘two-way street’ on tariffs

BRUSSELS — The EU is pushing the Donald Trump administration to take the bloc’s offer to negotiate seriously on tariffs, after Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič met top U.S. trade officials in Washington on Monday.

In a written statement outlining the meeting, the European Commission’s trade spokesperson Olof Gill said “significant joint efforts” will be required during the 90-day period of suspended tariffs that will last until mid-July.

“The EU is doing its part,” the statement said. “Now, it is necessary for the U.S. to define its position. As with every negotiation, this must be a two-way street / two-way engagement, with both sides bringing something to the table.”

The statement echoes a complaint by Šefčovič a few weeks back that the Trump administration was failing to engage.

Šefčovič met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and several high-ranking officials from the U.S. Treasury Department. The meeting lasted several hours, the Commission said.

The EU has paused its retaliation against Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, even though the U.S. kept in place a 10 percent universal tariff on all trading partners and 25 percent levies on cars, steel and aluminum.

A higher 20 percent tariff that Trump imposed on the EU is suspended for 90 days.

“The meeting yesterday covered a lot of ground, from tariffs to non-tariff barriers. It explored the scope for a fair and mutually beneficial deal,” Gill said.

The talks went over the EU’s zero-for-zero proposal on industrial products, global overcapacity — a reference to Chinese subsidies — and “the resilience of our supply chains in semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.”

The EU’s 27 top ambassadors will receive a briefing from the Commission later on Tuesday on the D.C. meeting.

Meanwhile, the bloc’s executive will keep at it, including preparing for potential U.S. tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. “The Commission also continues with our preparatory work on additional countermeasures, should the negotiations fail to result in a successful outcome,” Gill said.