According to the Financial Times, a senior member of the European Parliament has revealed that the European Union will propose to reduce tariffs on imported cars from the United States as part of an agreement to avoid a trade war with US President Donald Trump.
Jeep, chairman of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee, Bernd Lange, told the Financial Times that the EU is willing to reduce its current 10 per cent import tax on cars to close to 2.
5 per cent in the United States.
Bernd Lange said: “We can try to reach an agreement before costs go up and tariffs go up.
” He is familiar with discussions within the European Union about how to ease tensions with the White House.
He added that the EU would propose to buy more liquefied natural gas and military equipment from the United States and “consider lowering tariffs on cars at the same time.
” The EU hopes to avoid a destructive trade war by reducing its trade surplus with the US, which Mr Trump often uses as a reason for punitive measures against the EU.
During Mr Trump’s first term, the EU cut tariffs on US lobsters and proposed to buy more liquefied natural gas and soybeans from the US, limiting trade disputes to steel and aluminium.
EU officials told the Financial Times that the EU auto industry supported the move.
The European auto industry is worried that Trump will make good on his threat to impose tariffs on European cars.
Trump once complained that Europeans “don’t buy our cars, they don’t buy our agricultural products, they buy almost nothing, and we buy everything from them”.
In 2022, the European Union exported 738436 cars to the United States, worth 37.
4 billion euros, while only 271476 cars were imported from the United States, valued at 8.
7 billion euros.
It is worth noting that according to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the EU’s decision to reduce car tariffs will also apply to China and other countries.
Lange said: “We set the tariff on cars at 10% under the framework of WTO, but it can be said that in order to show the world that we have a fair trade relationship, it is possible to reduce tariffs.
” EU officials believe that even if car import tariffs are reduced, car imports from China are not expected to surge, as the EU has imposed tariffs of up to 35 per cent on Chinese electric vehicles on the grounds that they have received unfair subsidies.
Oliver Zipse, chief executive of BMW, called for lower tariffs on cars, and Mercedes-Benz chief Ola K ä llenius said he hoped to reach a “major deal” with Trump.
EU officials said consultations had been held with major carmakers, including Germany, and Germany was not expected to object to the move.
Lange warned that if the talks fail, the EU will use new means to fight back, such as higher taxes on US technology and financial companies and a suspension of intellectual property protection.
He also said that the introduction of the anti-coercive tool would take about six months because the EU must calculate the damage to its industry and have the support of a majority of member States.
But he said governments had noticed a quick response from Canada and Mexico to the 25 per cent tariff imposed on Mr Trump, prompting Mr Trump to postpone the effective date of the tariff by 30 days.
“of course, we are stronger than Canada or Mexico.
Therefore, I think we can defend our economic interests.
” The European Commission declined to comment on the reports.
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