The tariff crisis Trump's tariff policy

Former Trump advisor: EU is acting too slowly

The gap between the Trump administration and the EU was inevitable given the Union's slow implementation of the trade agreement that was concluded in July last year. Kelly Ann Shaw, who was a trade advisor to Trump during his first term, told Reuters.

She believes that Trump implemented the agreement in principle immediately.

- And almost a year later, we still have not seen the EU lower a single tariff, she continues.

Ryan Majerus was a senior official at the Commerce Department during the Biden administration. He notes that the move will escalate tensions between Washington and Brussels, the news agency writes.

The industry urges the US and EU to de-escalate conflict

The automotive industry urges the US and EU to quickly find a solution to the escalated tariff conflict.

Hildegard Müller, head of the German industry association VDA, says that both parties must live up to the agreement, writes Bloomberg.

“This also means that the EU must finally ratify its part of the agreement that was concluded last summer,” she writes in a comment.

Jennifer Safavian at Autos Drive America, which represents foreign car manufacturers in the US, says that Trump’s move could threaten the progress made in opening up EU markets. She also urges the parties to quickly find a solution to maintain the agreement, writes the Financial Times.