European Commissioner for Economic Trade and Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, Maros Sefcovic. Photo: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen / AFP / Profimedia
The European Trade Commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, will have on Washington on Monday, discussions with US officials, after US President Donald Trump suspended for 90 days the additional customs duties he had decided, and the EU suspended customs taxes, Reuters and EFE agencies report on Friday.
“The trade commissioner goes to Washington to try to sign agreements. That's what we focus,” said the European Commission spokesman Olof Gill.
He also mentioned that it is not yet clear what the United States wants from the European Union, but the 90-day break in applying new customs taxes brings both parties “in a new space where we could advance and get real progress.”
“We have a lot to offer and we are willing to discuss,” added the community spokesman, without giving concrete details.
The European Trade Commissioner will be accompanied to Washington by Bjoorn Sebert, the head of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von Der Leyen.
The latter has announced that the EU wants an agreement with the US to provide each other zero customs duties for industrial products. However, in an interview with the Financial Times publication on Friday, she confirmed that among the commercial reprisals that the Community Executive examines are the taxation of the big American digital companies.
The European Commission on Thursday announced that the EU will postpone 90 -day the application of customs duties on US imports, after US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, 90 -day postponement of additional customs duties exceeding the 10% customs tax charges on US products.
“We want to give the negotiations a chance,” said von der Leyen. “But if the negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will enter into force,” she added.
The United States imposed, in a first stage, 25% customs duties on steel, aluminum, vehicles and components of the auto industry, regardless of the country of origin. Compared to these EU taxes, on Wednesday, a set of retrival fees between 10% and 25% on a series of various American products, from motorcycles or poultry meat. These are the customs duties that are now suspended by the EU for 90 days.
US President Donald Trump announced last Wednesday fees consisting of a 10% basic tax for all imports (except for those already taxed by 25% and exceptions regarding energy products, semiconductors, etc.), to which for dozens of countries are added additional customs duties depending on their taxation with the US. For example, for the products imported from the EU countries the customs fees charged by the US have reached 20%.
For the products imported by the US from China the percentage of customs taxes announced by Trump was 34%, to which were added the 20% existing taxes, therefore 54%, reaching 145% after being supplemented this week in a mutual reprisal.
But Trump said on Wednesday that he suspends additional customs duties for 90 days, that is, those who exceed the 10%basic ceiling, except for those applied to China, after many countries have requested negotiations with Washington.
Following this last announcement, the European Commission has also decided to suspend customs duties agreed by EU states as reprisals for 25% customs taxes last month for steel, aluminum, vehicles and components of the automotive industry. However, these taxes imposed by the US seem to remain in force, Trump's last announcement referring only to the other customs duties that exceed the 10%basic ceiling. For the latter the European Commission should have announced the reprisal measures next week, which would have been added to those announced on Wednesday and are now suspended.
