EU welcomes US compliance with agreement on tariffs
‘The EU has already fulfilled its part of the agreement’ and ‘going forward, it expects the United States to continue to comply with the terms of the EU-US joint declaration’
‘The EU takes note of the US’s publication of the remedial measures adopted as part of the Section 301 investigation. The EU welcomes the fact that these are in line with the US tariff commitments agreed in the joint statement. The EU has already fulfilled its part of the agreement” and “looking ahead, it expects the US to continue to comply with the terms of the EU-US Joint Statement, including with regard to any remedial measures in the context of further Section 301 investigations”. This was emphasised by a spokesperson for the European Commission.
The new US measures – the spokesperson points out – “set a blanket tariff rate of 10 per cent for the EU and reintroduce additional tariff exemptions for the EU, such as those relating to cork and diamonds, which are in addition to those already in force for aircraft and components, generic medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients’. The fact that they are in line with the Turnberry Declaration “also provides positive momentum to continue work aimed at exploring further tariff exemptions and deepening cooperation across a wide range of sectors, including critical natural resources, economic security, artificial intelligence and digital issues, to name but a few’, the spokesperson explains, adding that honouring these commitments ‘is essential to continue ensuring that our respective markets have the stability and predictability they so badly need. We will continue to engage with the US administration to ensure that the United States fully honours its commitments’.
Australia: US tariffs are unjustified and must be lifted
The Australian Trade Minister has stated that the new tariffs imposed by the US, an ally, are ‘unjustified: ‘These tariffs are unjustified, incompatible with our free trade agreement and must be removed,’ said Minister Don Farrell, after Australia was added to the list of Washington’s trading partners subject to tariffs ranging from 10 to 12.5 per cent.
New Zealand: Disappointing US tariffs, no significant evidence of forced labour
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has described the new US tariffs as ‘extremely disappointing’, after he and around 60 others were hit by tariffs imposed by the United States. The US investigation, launched to determine whether the US’s trading partners had completely eliminated products made using forced labour from their supply chains, “failed to provide significant evidence to support the allegations of forced labour”, Luxon said.
