EU: Give us permanent exemption, then we’ll talk

SOFIA: The European Union (EU) needs to have a permanent exemption from US tariffs on steel and aluminium products before it can discuss deepening trade ties with the US, EU leaders said yesterday.

The bloc has until the end of the month to negotiate getting a permanent exemption from tariffs of 10% on steel and 25% on aluminium products imposed by US President Donald Trump in March, from which the bloc has been given only temporary exemptions.

“It’s Europe’s economic sovereignty, and what we are demanding is that we are exempted without conditions or limits,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.

“We can improve things, in a peaceful setting. But the precondition for any discussion with the US is the removal without conditions, be they technical or in terms of time, of the tariffs that are proposed, or are a threat, for June 1.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also stressed that a permanent exemption from the levies was a precondition for future negotiations on, for example, reducing other existing tariffs.

“We have a common position: We want to get an indefinite exception, but then we are also ready to talk about how we reciprocally reduce the barriers to trade,” Merkel said.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz decried the possible US tariffs calling them part of “an American policy that simply endangers our economic interests”. – dpa