There is no quick solution to the dispute over possible US tariffs on European cars. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said yesterday after a meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington that they had not specifically talked about the threatened tariffs.
Rather, the two issues of regulatory cooperation and the import of soybeans and liquefied gas from the US had discussed.
List of retaliatory duties
If the US actually levies customs duties on cars from the EU, there is already a list of retaliatory tariffs ready, Malmström affirmed. As examples she named the vehicle sector, agriculture and industrial goods. „We will do that, but we hope we will not get into this situation.“ Malmström had said that she was aiming for a resolution to the dispute by February.
Two US government officials told Reuters news agency that the Department of Commerce had sent a recommendation to the Office of the General Council asking whether special duties of up to 25 percent should be imposed on US-imported cars and car parts on national security grounds.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose an import duty on European cars if the EU does not reduce its trade barriers. That could hit the major European car companies such as Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW.
