European authorities say will respond to any US auto tariff move
European Union Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen says EU officials will respond to any measure by the United States aimed at increasing tariffs on cars made in the bloc, once again escalating a trade war between Brussels and Washington.
"If they decide to raise their import tariffs, we'll have no choice, again, but to react," Katainen told French newspaper Le Monde, in a report published on Saturday.
"We don't want to fight (over trade issues) in public via Twitter. We should end the escalation," he added.
The EU official made the remarks a day after US President Donald Trump threatened to place a 20 percent tariff on all European cars entering the country.
“Based on the Tariffs and Trade Barriers long placed on the US and it[s] great companies and workers by the European Union, if these Tariffs and Barriers are not soon broken down and removed, we will be placing a 20% Tariff on all of their cars coming into the US. Build them here!” Trump said in a tweet on Friday.
His threat came after Brussels imposed retaliatory tariffs on iconic US goods worth 3.2 billion dollars, including jeans and motorcycles, in response to the US’s duties earlier imposed on steel and aluminum.
The US president made steel from the European Union, Canada and Mexico subject to 25 percent tariffs and aluminum to 10 percent at the start of June, ending exemptions that had been in place since March.
The US currently charges a 2.5 percent duty on cars imported from Europe and levies a 25 percent tariff on imported pickup trucks.
Canada and Mexico have adopted similar retaliatory measures against Trump’s metal tariffs. Ottawa has announced that it will impose retaliatory tariffs on 16.6 billion Canadian dollars ($12.5 billion) worth of US exports from July 1. Mexico has already levied duties on American products ranging from steel to farm products.
The European Commission has also launched a legal challenge against the US tariffs at the World Trade Organization. In addition, it is assessing the need for measures to prevent a surge of imports of steel and aluminum into Europe as non-EU exporters divert product initially bound for the US.
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