EU offers 'zero-for-zero tariffs' for industrial goods to US

In a post on X, she said, "Europe is ready to negotiate with the US. We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods. Because we're always ready for a good deal. But we're also prepared to respond with countermeasures. And protect ourselves against indirect effects through trade diversion."

The European Commission has offered the United States a deal to remove tariffs on all industrial goods as part of the trade negotiations, Ursula von der Leyen has said while stressing her intention to retaliate against Donald Trump's policies should talks fail.

https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/1909238427272307101

US President Donald Trump has announced a 20 per cent across-the-board tariff on imports from the European Union, set to take effect on 9 April. Steel, aluminum and cars are subject to a separate 25 per cent rate. In total, over Euro 380 billion in EU-made products will be affected, as per Euro News.

Pharmaceuticals, copper, lumber, semiconductors and energy have been exempted, Euro News reported.

"We stand ready to negotiate with the US. Indeed, we have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trading partners," the Commission president said on Monday afternoon.

"Because Europe is always ready for a good deal. So we keep it on the table. But we are also prepared to respond through countermeasures and defend our interests."

The "zero-for-zero" deal was offered in the past "repeatedly" for the automotive sector, von der Leyen said, "but there was no adequate reaction" from Washington.

The Commission expanded the pitch to all industrial goods in recent days as talks intensified, a spokesperson said. No further details were provided.

"We prefer to have a negotiated solution," von der Leyen said, warning her executive will use "all instruments" available to hit back "if necessary," including an anti-coercion instrument that was introduced in 2023 but which has never been triggered.

Von der Leyen described Trump's sweeping tariffs as a "major turning point for the United States" that would have "immense costs" for American consumers and businesses alike and deliver a "massive" blow to the global economy.

While Washington has described the tariffs as "reciprocal", Brussels has dismissed its logic as "neither credible nor justified".

European Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency Maros Sefcovic said the EU is still open to talks with the US on trade, but has seen little willingness from Washington for mutually beneficial negotiations. The bloc is set to roll out countermeasures on April 15, the EU's trade commissioner added, as per Al Jazeera.

Besides the immediate impact on EU-US trade flows, which puts billions at risk of being wiped off, the Commission is also concerned about the potential ramifications that Trump's decision will have on international commerce - in particular on Asia.

Asian countries have been hit with higher rates than the bloc: 24 per cent for Malaysia, 26 per cent for India, 32 per cent for Indonesia, 36 pe cent for Thailand, 46 per cent for Vietnam, 48 per cent for Laos and 49 per cent for Cambodia, among others. China was slapped with a 34 per cent "reciprocal" tariff on top of a previous 20 per cent rate, for a whopping 54 per cent in total. (Beijing has already hit back.)

The levels are so prohibitive that Brussels fears Asian countries, whose economies depend on exports, will be locked out of the American market and reroute their products to Europe as an alternative.

During her intervention on Monday, von der Leyen announced the creation of a new "task force" to closely monitor the changes in global commerce, as per Euro News.

"We will also protect ourselves against indirect effects through trade diversion. For this purpose, we will set up an 'Import Surveillance Task Force'," she said. "We look at what are the historical imports that we have and had and (whether) there is any specific surge all of a sudden of a certain product or in a certain sector that we have to act on," as per Euro News.