Ursula von der Leyen revealed this Monday that the European Commission has offered the United States a "zero-for-zero" tariff agreement on industrial products, meaning eliminating any type of tariff in this area. "This is what we have successfully done with many other trading partners. Because Europe is always willing to reach a good agreement. So we keep it on the table," said the President of the European Executive from Brussels, specifying that the offer includes important products such as cars.
Just minutes later, the EU's Trade Commissioner and envoy to Washington to negotiate with the Trump Administration, Maros Sefcovic, went further from Luxembourg: the measure was already proposed "on February 19", the date of the first meeting between both parties. However, as highlighted by Von der Leyen, the issue is that "there was no adequate response from the United States. In other words, the Donald Trump Administration did not want to accept the proposal and reach an agreement.
Nevertheless, the offer remains on the EU's side, and in fact, Sefcovic, after participating in the meeting of trade ministers held this Monday, stated that he sees the offer as a future possibility and hopes to return to that discussion. Furthermore, the Commissioner even stated that the United States and Europe will eventually reach an "acceptable compromise" for both parties.
However, this is not exactly the message coming from Washington, and not even the strong stock market turbulence seems enough to make the Trump Administration reconsider its position. In fact, these significant drops were pointed out during this Monday by Sefcovic himself as well as by the Economy Minister, Carlos Cuerpo.
"The message that the stock markets worldwide are sending is a very clear message that we are facing an economic policy that is harmful for everyone globally, and therefore we all need to reflect, try to move precisely towards that negotiated solution, towards that agreement that benefits our economies," said Cuerpo upon arrival at the meeting. Sefcovic, on the other hand, was more direct and dramatic: it is a "black day for global markets."
However, as mentioned, Europe still does not see any approach from the US, and that is why it is already working on "countermeasures". So much so that this afternoon, the products on which the Commission will apply tariffs will be announced, and the entry into force schedule is also planned.
The measures designed in response to the tariffs on steel and aluminum, which stem from tariffs already applied in the previous Trump administration, will come into effect on April 15. For example, there is a question about whether bourbon tariffs will be included, which was initially planned but France has pushed to remove it to prevent the US from responding with measures on wine and champagne.
The rest, the new actions, are scheduled for May 15. This is where the bulk of the actions lie, the response to up to 81,000 million in surcharges that, according to the European Commission, the Trump tariffs represent for European exports.