EU IS READY TO DEFEND ITS ECONOMY FROM US TARIFFS- Says Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis
The European Union’s economy commissioner said today that the bloc was ready to defend its economic interests if no agreement could be reached with the United States on tariffs.
With higher U.S. tariffs postponed by 90 days, EU finance ministers will brainstorm on Friday how to use that time to reach a trade deal with Washington and how to coordinate their efforts to handle higher levies if they are unsuccessful.
Arriving for talks in Warsaw, EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and Germany’s finance minister Joerg Kukies both said that if negotiations did not work out the EU would retaliate.
If a deal can be agreed within the next three months, possibly along the lines of the EU’s zero-tariff proposal on all industrial goods, the issue would be resolved.
But a no-deal outcome is also possible. That would leave the response in the hands of the 27 EU governments that will have to help their industrial sectors hit hardest.
Coordination of industry support will be key because some governments have stronger public finances and can afford to help their companies while others cannot. Such inequality would distort fair competition in the single EU market.
Polish finance minister Andrzej Domanski said in the event of having to respond to U.S. tariffs if negotiations broke down there was a need for a “truly European answer”.
“I wouldn’t like to see a race to the bottom in terms of supporting industries,” Domanski said.
