Brussels/Hanoi – The European Union believes that the United States will adhere to the intention outlined in the joint EU and US statement on mutual trade and customs agreement, and that European companies and exporters will not pay higher than the agreed 15 percent tariffs. This was stated on Friday during a media meeting in Hanoi by European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič, as reported by the Brussels correspondent of TASR.
Maroš Šefčovič clarified earlier this week for TASR that he will participate in a meeting of a special committee that oversees European-Vietnamese trade cooperation in Hanoi. The interview he provided to the media after this meeting was also shared with TASR by his office.
The main issues that the Slovak European Commissioner faced in Hanoi were related to Thursday’s (September 25) announcement by American President Donald Trump that his administration will impose new tariffs on trading partners worldwide starting October 1 on pharmaceuticals, trucks, and furniture. This is expected to involve 100 percent tariffs on all branded or patented pharmaceutical products unless their manufacturing company ensures production in America, 25 percent tariffs on trucks made in other parts of the world, 50 percent tariffs on kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and 30 percent tariffs on upholstered furniture.
There is a clear commitment from the Americans that EU pharmaceutical products will be subject to a 15% customs burden
Šefčovič reminded of the joint EU and US statement from August, where according to him, there is a clear commitment from the Americans that EU pharmaceutical products will be subject to a 15% customs burden. “When we were preparing the joint statement, the investigation by the American side was already underway. We agreed that pharmaceutical products and also semiconductors would be covered by this ceiling. So I expect these commitments to be fulfilled. I must say that so far both sides have adhered to the commitments of the joint statement,” he described the situation.
He noted that the Trump administration signed orders on Thursday that retroactively impose a 15% tax on cars and their parts from August 1, and from September 1, the same tax on airplanes and generics.
“From the United States’ side, everything has been adhered to, and on our side as well, because we presented a proposal to reduce tariffs on American products to the EU by the end of August. I believe we will continue to implement the commitments of the joint statement well,” he conveyed.
On Thursday, Šefčovič met in Malaysia, during a working meeting of trade ministers from ASEAN countries, with the US President’s Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greerwith whom he discussed tariffs on aluminum and steel, among other things. He stated to the media in Hanoi that he informed Greer in Kuala Lumpur about the measures the EU is taking to protect the steel industry suffering from excessive import capacity of steel from abroad. He emphasized that European manufacturers are suffering from high customs burdens on steel and aluminum.
“We agreed that I will prepare specific proposals and likely send them to my American partners over the weekend. Proposals on how we can address this issue, because our mutual trade in steel and aluminum concerns special steel in limited quantities. We should be able to resolve this issue, as we are not a problem for each other when it comes to the export of steel and aluminum,” Šefčovič explained. (September 26)
