Šefčovič will interpret for the USA on Monday that the EU is ready for customs countermeasures

Brussels – European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič will convey to the American side on Monday evening that he has a mandate to continue negotiations on tariffs, but also a mandate to implement multi-billion retaliatory measures. This was reported by TASR correspondent.

 The Slovak European Commissioner stated this after the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, segment trade, and in response to the statements made by US President Donald Trump last Saturday (July 12) regarding the threat of a 30 percent increase in tariffs for the EU starting August 1.

Šefčovič admitted that Trump’s decision on Saturday was disappointing for him, as he had spent over a hundred hours in personal negotiations with American partners, and his technical team dedicated several more dozen hours to it.  “As for the framework agreement we were negotiating, we were really close. What needed to be finalized were items like steel, tariffs on cars, so things that are important for us in Slovakia as well,” he described the situation.

He was convinced that an agreement was imminent, but this did not happen when Trump, according to him, personally decided that a more assertive approach was needed in these negotiations. He claims that Trump’s letter forces Europeans to take a specific position.

“This has caused a shift in the previously clear dominance of member states to negotiate at all costs; today that ratio is changing. It has been clearly stated by the member states that we want to negotiate, we want a fair agreement, but if that does not happen, we will be forced to take retaliatory measures,” he said.

He believes that negotiations will likely become complicated, but on behalf of the EU, he wants to do everything possible to utilize all options and opportunities so that the EU has a “clear conscience” that it truly did its utmost. He confirmed that in the event of unsuccessful negotiations, the Union, as the largest trading bloc in the world, must act; it cannot accept conditions that are devastating to its economy.

This will also be his message to American partners from the USA, with whom he will connect on Monday evening. He clarified to TASR that the first message he will convey is the effort to reach an agreement by August 1 and to return to the interrupted negotiations from last week.

“But that 30 percent is absolutely unacceptable for anyone within the EU, and I will say that I received a clear mandate from the member states that if we do not manage to reach a more acceptable agreement, we will have to adopt balancing measures worth approximately 90 billion euros,” Šefčovič said. (July 14)