Tánaiste Simon Harris has welcomed positive EU-US trade talks in Paris but said newly enacted 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium by the Trump administration brought further uncertainty to the global economy.
On Wednesday, European Union Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic announced he had held productive talks with US trade representative Jamieson Greer, as both sides attempted to find a deal over trade tariffs.
“Had a productive and constructive discussion with @USTradeRep Ambassador Greer on the margins of the @OECD Trade Ministerial. We’re advancing in the right direction at pace – and staying in close contact to maintain the momentum,” Mr Sefcovic wrote on X without giving any detail on the talks. He had been due to make the case for cutting or eliminating threatened tariffs on European imports.
Responding to that development, Mr Harris welcomed the talks as a “positive step” and said the Irish Government’s consistent position had been toward the need for “substantive, calm, measured and comprehensive dialogue” with the US.
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“The Government regrets the increase of US tariffs on steel imports from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, which came into effect today. This latest move by the US adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said in a statement.
“I wish to reiterate our full support for dialogue. The objective remains to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that includes reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers, promoting economic security, as well as facilitating business opportunities and investment. At the same time, it is correct that the EU is doing preparatory work on a range of potential re-balancing measures, should negotiations fail.”
Mr Harris said his Department was working to understand the impact of US tariffs on Irish business, as well as preparing for EU “rebalancing measures, if they are required”.
Following the early talks on Wednesday, Mr Sefcovic said the new American levies on steel and aluminium imports were not helpful.
“Our goal is to maintain the momentum,” the EU trade commissioner told reporters in Paris, where he was attending a conference at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
“I believe we can achieve positive result,” he said. “But we are also ready to defend our interests and do the utmost to rebalance our trade relationship.”
The meeting came as the US is pressing its trade partners to put forward proposals to address president Trump’s concerns over the trade imbalances in order to speed trade talks before July 9th, when higher levies are set to take effect.
Meanwhile, the US administration continued to increase the tariff barriers by raising steel and aluminium rates to 50 per cent from 25 per cent on Wednesday in a move called necessary to protect national security.
Asked about Mr Trump’s latest increase in metals tariffs, Mr Sefcovic said it was not a helpful step in the talks and urged that the US and EU work together to resolve overcapacity problems.
“We told him that we strongly regret this latest US decision and explained to him it clearly doesn’t help the ongoing negotiations especially as we are making progress,” he said. “So my plea was, ‘let’s not target each other but work together.’”
Mr Trump has especially antagonised the EU by accusing the 27-nation bloc of slow-walking negotiations, leading the European Commission, the EU executive’s arm responsible for trade talks, to promise to accelerate the talks.
According to commission estimates, tariffs adopted by Mr Trump now cover €380 billion ($433 billion), or about 70 per cent, of EU exports to the US.
The EU has approved tariffs on €21 billion of US goods in response to Mr Trump’s metals levies that can be quickly implemented. They target politically sensitive American states and include products such as soybeans from Louisiana, home to House speaker Mike Johnson, as well as agricultural products, poultry and motorcycles.
The bloc is also preparing an additional list of tariffs on €95 billion of American products in response to Mr Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” levies and automotive duties. They would target industrial goods including Boeing aircraft, US-made cars and bourbon.
The OECD warned on Tuesday that the trade tensions initiated by Mr Trump have significantly worsened the outlook for the global economy, and the US in particular. – Reuters, Bloomberg
