EU prepared for 'every scenario' after Trump car tariff threat

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday the bloc is "prepared for every scenario" after US President Donald Trump threatened to hike levies on European cars.
Trump vowed Friday to raise tariffs on EU cars and trucks from 15 to 25 percent, accusing the bloc of reneging on a trade accord struck last year -- a charge von der Leyen rejected.

"A deal is a deal, and we have a deal," the European Commission president told reporters in Yerevan, adding: "We are both implementing this deal while respecting the different democratic procedures we have on both sides."

The European Parliament has given conditional approval to the EU-US trade pact, but under the bloc's procedures a final version still needs to be negotiated with member states.

"On the European Union side, we are now in the final stages of implementing the remaining tariff commitments," said von der Leyen, whose commission leads trade policy for the 27-nation EU.

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa shake hands during a press conference at the Armenia-European Union summit in Yerevan on Tuesday. AFP

"At the same time, the US has the commitment -- for example where alignment with the agreed ceiling is still outstanding," von der Leyen said.

"So we want from this work mutual gain, cooperation and reliability -- and we are prepared for every scenario," she said.

The EU-US trade deal last year capped US tariffs at 15 percent on most European goods, including cars -- lower than the 25 percent Trump imposed on vehicles from many other trading partners.

The EU's trade chief Maros Sefcovic is to hold talks with his US counterpart, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the margins of a G7 ministerial meeting in Paris on Tuesday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa attend the Armenia-European Union summit in Yerevan on Tuesday. AFP

Greer told CNBC Monday that approval process on the EU side had been "very slow" and had introduced amendments that would "limit the deal".

"After discussing this with our European colleagues over many, many months, the president decided that if the Europeans aren't implementing the deal right now, then we don't have to implement all of it either at this time," Greer added.

The European Commission has insisted it remains committed to the accord.

"Since day one, we are implementing the joint statement, and we're fully committed to delivering on our shared commitments," EU spokesman Thomas Regnier said Monday.
The EU has warned it is keeping its options open, but Regnier refused to speculate on how the EU would act if the new tariffs kick in.

Agence France-Presse