EU Trade Chief Heads to Washington Amid Rising Tariff Tensions

Now, the European Union is preparing to impose retaliatory tariffs on approximately €21.5 billion of U.S. exports. This decision coincides with increasing international tensions related to the steel and aluminum duties ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump. The EU’s retaliatory response would match these wider U.S. tariffs dollar-for-dollar. To deescalate the situation, EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič will have to do the following. He is set to meet U.S. counterparts in Washington D.C. on Tuesday. This meeting is the EU’s most recent effort to respond to this abrasive trade dispute and downshift an escalating trade war.

In addition to engaging with U.S. lawmakers, Šefčovič will meet – again as part of his diplomatic mission – with Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer. The EU Commission has opted to delay one batch of its tariff response from April 1 to April 13, allowing time for diplomatic negotiations. The U.S. President is hell-bent on making these tariffs a done deal by April 2, come hell or high water. He describes that date as “Liberation Day.”

Yet the EU is struggling to manage its own internal divisions in these fraught moments. Member countries such as France and Italy are making their concerns known over bad suggested inclusion of wine and fruits in these potential tariff lists. These countries have been adamant in their opposition, illustrating the difficulty in bringing together a united front from within the EU itself.

This week Šefčovič is in Washington to talk terms with the United States. This visit, then, is the first step in his hopeful strategy to temper trade strife. After his meetings in Washington, Šefčovič is set to continue this tour by flying to Beijing on Thursday and Friday. This visit will be his first trip to China since taking on the job of EU trade commissioner at the end of last year.

Negotiations between the two parties are continuing, but hope for a breakthrough is fading. Most troubling is Trump’s unwillingness to grant exemptions from the tariffs. The tariffs would disrupt the economy seriously. This underscored, once again, how important maintaining a robustly open trade relationship between the EU and United States is to both sides.

"We should be making every effort on both sides to avoid harmful tariffs and build — rather than tear down — the EU-U.S. trade and economic relationship, which is the strongest in the world," said Olof Gill.