EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has said that the EU is willing to reduce the import duty on US cars to zero if the US does the same, according to media reports. “Removing tariffs would be good for us economically and good for them, mutually beneficial,” Malmström said.
In an interview with Bloomberg, US President Donald Trump said that the EU’s offer regarding auto tariffs “is not good enough”, adding, “Their consumer habits are to buy their cars, not to buy our cars”. Bloomberg quoted Trump as saying, “The European Union is almost as bad as China, just smaller”.
In response, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that the EU would not let anyone determine its trade policies. “If Washington decides to impose tariffs on vehicles after all, then we will also do that,” Juncker added.