EU Ready for Deal With US Over Tariffs, But Yet to Get a Response

A deal, if any, would take a long time, and there's no EU consensus on retaliation

- Jonathan Eyal

LONDON - Retaliate against United States tariffs or seek a deal with Washington? Meeting for the first time since President Donald Trump slapped 20 percent tariffs on European Union exports to the US, the bloc's trade ministers agreed that they must seek to avoid an all-out trade war with America.

Speaking at the end of an EU ministerial meeting on April 7, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic revealed that months ago, and soon after Mr. Trump was sworn in as US President, the union proposed to Washington that all tariffs on industrial goods should be lifted, and claimed that the offer still stands.

The message was reinforced by Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, the EU's executive body, who vowed to keep the offer "on the table" because the union "is always ready for a good deal".

But there was no immediate response from the US.

Nor is it evident that the EU can reach a consensus on what to do should the Americans ultimately choose to ignore Europe's olive branch.

Mr. Trump's 20 percent tariffs—which come into effect on April 9 and apply in particular to European steel, aluminum, and cars—affect about €380 billion ($561.8 billion) worth of EU exports.

The EU currently charges an average tariff of around 1.6 percent on US products and 10 percent on imported US cars.

But that is mainly because Mr. Trump pulled back during his first term as president from concluding a proposed transatlantic trade and investment partnership, which would have eliminated most industrial tariffs.

It therefore makes perfect sense for the EU to revive its previous offer of a reciprocal elimination of all duties on industrial goods.