Car import tariff hot discussion EU "back" Trump

According to foreign media reports, the European Union’s trade commissioner recently refuted Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on imported cars and vowed to “courage bravely against bullies,” and added that the collection of tariffs would expand the transatlantic area on trade protectionism. The opposition is likely to accelerate the formation of a comprehensive trade war.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said at a meeting in Brussels on Monday: “In some areas, trade has been criticized as a pain point for globalization, while other regions treat trade as a scapegoat and insist that we can hide behind the barriers. We have recently seen how trade is used to threaten and intimidate us. But we are not afraid. We will stand up and face it."

After announcing that it would impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products, Trump has been stressing weekends to impose tariffs on European cars and revealed to supporters at the event that EU countries have united to squeeze the United States on trade. The United States and Europe, the most recent spat involved in the field from the climate change to the Middle East policy issues, and even to the most closely related to the global political and military cooperation (referring to the EU) to strengthen cooperation.

Malmstrom and US Trade Minister Robert Lighthizer met in Brussels on Saturday, and since the EU does not accept the appeasement of receiving steel tariff exemptions in the future, neither party has made substantial progress. Malmstrom said on Monday that she has read a tweet about Trump's answer to which countries will enjoy immunity.

The EU stated that it is a close partner of the United States. Therefore, any tariff imposed on the grounds of national security is not justified. Since the two sides currently have no planned bilateral meetings, the two parties' contracts will still be in force and the EU expects to obtain a tariff exemption as soon as possible.

Trump once accused the EU of setting up trade barriers with American auto companies. When asked about this issue, Malmstrom stated that it is difficult to argue these issues on Twitter, but the EU is a very open market. She said that the EU does levy a 10% tariff on cars imported from the United States, but the United States imposes a 25% tariff on imported trucks and pick-up trucks, and 40% on some imported garments.

Malmstrom said that removing these tariffs is the core of the free trade agreement negotiations between the EU and the United States, but under Trump's leadership, the negotiations have stalled. She said: "Anyway, if the tariff issue involves trade and aluminum product safety issues, I cannot understand how car issues are involved."