The trade agreements between the EU and the USA are important for Bulgaria as well, said Deputy Minister Doncho Barbalov
SOFIA – The trade agreements between the European Union (EU) and the USA are particularly important for Bulgaria in the fields of the automotive industry, standardization, and artificial intelligence, said Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry Doncho Barbalov to BTA.
He commented on the joint written statement of the EU and the USA outlining the agreement reached by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the USA Donald Trump on July 27.
As an interesting new point, Barbalov highlighted the resolution of the issue of tariffs on cars and motor vehicles that the EU exports to the USA.
Currently, these tariffs are over 25%, and the joint statement of the EU and the USA specifies that they can be reduced to 15%, and this will happen in the month when the EU begins legislative changes to exempt certain American agricultural products from tariffs, noted Deputy Minister Barbalov.
According to him, if such a legislative procedure starts as early as August, there will be a reduction in tariffs for motor vehicles that the EU exports to the USA. This indirectly affects Bulgaria as many companies in the country produce parts for European manufacturers in the automotive industry that are sold in Europe and the USA.
The statement from the EU and the USA clarifies that work will be done on mutual recognition of agreements related to cybersecurity, which is a topic important for the whole world, Barbalov added.
Doncho Barbalov also commented on the EU’s commitment to purchasing American goods and the planned purchase of artificial intelligence chips worth $40 million, noting that this is a priority area in which Bulgaria is also developing. According to him, investments in artificial intelligence technology will support this development.
According to the Deputy Minister of Economy, the way in which the additional 15% tariffs for European imports to the USA, which come into effect on September 1, will be formed, in practice, are not additional for the EU.
If a tariff was up to 15%, it now becomes 15%; if it was above 15%, it remains as it was, while for other countries, the additional tariff is added to the existing tariffs, Barbalov explained. This, according to him, is beneficial for EU producers.
In these discussions, Bulgaria has always expressed a position regarding steel, copper, and aluminum, and in this agreement, there is an understanding to work towards creating a common protective mechanism for the two markets against dumping imports – something the EU is already actively working on, and the possibility of introducing quotas is also being discussed, which would also benefit our producers, Barbalov further noted.
According to the Deputy Minister, the risks for the Bulgarian economy remain, but the agreement between the USA and the EU provides clarity. It is very important for every business to have clarity on when and what rules are applied so that they can respond in the most reasonable way, Barbalov said.
At the Ministry of Economy and Industry, we are working with the Bulgarian business, with our foreign trade structures, to compensate for the negative effect of these tariffs on industries where there is such an effect, Doncho Barbalov added. (21.08.2025)
