Any trade deal with US must be based on 'respect not threats', says EU commissioner
Last edited Sat May 24, 2025, 06:20 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: The Guardian
Sat 24 May 2025 08.08 EDT
Last modified on Sat 24 May 2025 08.30 EDT
The European Union’s trade chief has struck a defiant tone after Donald Trump threatened to place a 50% tariff on all goods from the bloc, saying any potential trade deal between Brussels and Washington must be based on “respect not threats”. The US president made his announcement after voicing frustration with the pace of progress on a trade agreement with the EU. The new rates would come into effect from 1 June.
The EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, posted on X after a call with the US trade representative Jamieson Greer and the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick: “The EU’s fully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both. “The European Commission remains ready to work in good faith. EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats. We stand ready to defend our interests.”
Trump had posted on Truth Social, the social media website he owns: “The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on trade, has been very difficult to deal with.” He went on to claim there was a $250m annual trade deficit with the EU. “Our discussions with [the EU] are going nowhere,” he said, before adding there would be no tariffs for products built or manufactured in the US.
Trump later told reporters: “I’m not looking for a deal – we’ve set the deal,” before immediately adding that a big investment in the US by a European company might make him open to a delay. The EU is one of the US’s largest trading partners, sending more than $600bn (€528bn; £443bn) in goods last year and buying $370bn worth, US government figures show.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/24/trade-deal-us-respect-not-threats-says-eu-commissioner-maros-sefcovic-trump-tariff
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and then tried to extrapolate that across Europe (despite the UK not being in the EU). He was already in a pissing match with Denmark regarding Greenland. 
