2025-07-29 16:30, act 201.2025-07-29 17:00
publication
2025-07-29 16:30
update
2025-07-29 17:00
Europeans have concluded a contract with us, otherwise their automotive and pharmaceutical industry would move to the USA – said US minister of trade Howard Lutnick on Tuesday. He noted that he wanted to quickly finalize the contract.
The head of the Ministry of Trade replied in an interview with CNBC why the EU agreed to 15 percent. duties on their goods, higher than their original goal. He said, otherwise customs duties would be higher and deadly for the European industry.
The key to why Europeans have concluded this contract are motoring and pharmaceuticals. President Trump has expressed very, very clearly: if you are going to sell here, you must produce here. Europeans (…) So they said: we will pay you 15 percent, but we do not want you to break away all our companies from Europe and move them to America – said Lutnick.
He noted that the EU will in this way avoid higher duties on medicines that will be announced soon. He also assessed that by pressing the Union, President Trump “knew how far he could go.”
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– Europeans found the highest level at which they could survive, because President Trump would not include systems differently. And thanks to this they can keep their car plants there. Yes, they will also build a lot of them here, but they do not have to move them all – he emphasized.
The minister admitted that in normal cases the finalization and ratification of such agreements takes years or even a decade. He noted, however, that Trump “works according to another schedule” and wants the agreement “now”; He intends to enforce it using American strength.
Lutnick announced that commercial talks from the EU will continue to take place about other matters, but he seemed to exclude a reduction in basic 15 percent. duties except the exceptions where zero rates were agreed.
– We will also talk about digital services, taxes and attack on our technology companies, which will be the subject of talks and which were not today. There are other things that they would like to move, such as steel and aluminum, which have not been included in this contract, and which will be the subject of conversations. There is still a lot to be done, but the foundations of their 20-million economy are already established-he concluded.
From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)
OSK/ MMS/
