Car tariffs could be scrapped in EU-US deal

Brussels (dpa), Aug 31, 2018- The European Union would abolish its tariffs on cars and industrial products if the United States was willing to reciprocate, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said. While the move appeared to be in line with demands from President Donald Trump to have no barriers to trade, the US leader was quick to dismiss the proposal as “not good enough,” in an interview with Bloomberg News just hours later.

“We are willing to bring down even our car tariffs to zero if it is reciprocal,” Malmstrom had told the European Parliament’s trade committee. The two sides are currently meeting to work on a framework for any future agreement. These talks follow a July meeting between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and US President Donald Trump in Washington, when a broader trade clash was defused.