BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Friday that he told U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that U.S tariffs were unjustified.
“A frank 2h exchange with Sec. @howardlutnick and Amb. @jamiesongreer. I was clear: US tariffs are damaging, unjustified,” Sefcovic wrote on social media platform X.
“The EU/US trade relationship needs a fresh approach. The EU’s committed to meaningful negotiations but also prepared to defend our interests. We stay in touch,” he added.
Trump has slapped EU imports into the U.S. with an across-the-board 20% duty.
The EU is divided on how best to respond to Trump’s tariffs, including on use of its ‘Anti-Coercion Instrument’, which allows the bloc to retaliate against third countries that put economic pressure on EU members to change their policies.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, editing by Deepa Babington)
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