European Commission gives guarded welcome to new Trump tariffs

The European Commission gave a guarded welcome to new tariffs imposed by the United States on Friday, saying that the outcome was in line with a trade deal the two sides struck a year ago.

The United States on Friday imposed new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, including the EU and China, saying it had found they were not acting sufficiently to prevent the import of products made from forced labor.

The European Union is one of a limited number of U.S. trading partners for which the new tariffs do not stack on top of pre-existing "most favored nation" customs duties. The tariffs also reintroduce the additional tariff exemptions for the EU, such as cork and diamonds, on top of those on aircraft and parts, generic medicines, and active ingredients.

"The EU notes positively the fact that this outcome is in line with the U.S. tariff commitments agreed under the EU-US Joint Statement," a European Commission spokesperson said, adding it provided "positive momentum" to continue the work on exploring further tariff exemptions and deepening cooperation.

The spokesperson said the EU expected Washington to continue abiding by the terms of the deal struck at U.S. President Donald Trump's Turnberry golf resort in Scotland last July.

Under that deal, the EU agreed to remove import duties on U.S. industrial goods, while the U.S. imposed 15% tariffs on most EU products.

"This is essential to continue providing our respective markets with much-needed stability and predictability," the spokesperson said.

The EU has previously rejected U.S. allegations that it is not acting against forced labour.