The EU has offered the United States an agreement for the mutual cancellation of all tariffs to industrial goods.
Despite US President Donald Trump’s pay decisions, the European Union is ready to negotiate, said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels. Europe is always ready for a good agreement.
According to information from the German Press Agency, the offer was already made before Trump’s pay decisions, but most recently renewed again on Friday. It stays on the table, said von der Leyen. When asked, she added that the topic of free trade for cars had been on the table several times, but there was no adequate answer.
Before the Commission President’s statements, US President advisor Elon Musk had spoken out for a transatlantic free trade zone without any tariffs at the weekend. He hoped that the United States and Europe could agree on an even narrower partnership than before, said the head of the electric car manufacturer Tesla at a party congress of the right Italian ruling party Lega in Florence.
“And as far as the tariffs are concerned, I hope that we are moving towards a zero-inch situation with a free trade zone between Europe and North America"he said.
Preparations for countermeasures
Von der Leyen made it clear on Monday that in addition to the negotiation efforts, possible countermeasures would be further prepared in the event of a failure of negotiations. In addition, one will also protect yourself against the effects of a possible redirection of trade flows from other parts of the world by the US import duties. One will become a
"Taskforce for monitoring imports" furnish. In order to ensure that there is a solid evidence for political measures, industry will work.
From the Leyen also announced that it would advance the expansion of trade relationships with other countries and cited India, Malaysia, Indonesia as examples. In addition, she referred to the already planned agreements with the South American state alliance Mercosur, Mexico and Switzerland. 83 percent of global trade exists beyond the United States, said von der Leyen.
Trump wants to correct alleged trade weights with tariffs and move production to the USA. At the same time, customs revenues should serve to at least partially counter its expensive election promise of large tax cuts. Above all, it is unclear whether the EU proposal for free trade can be successful.
This post was updated on April 7, 2025 at 2:27 p.m.