EU's Kallas questions US rationale for tariffs on bloc, seeks clarification

On Friday, the Trump administration imposed new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, including the European Union, over allegations of lax enforcement of forced labour bans, just as a temporary 10% global tariff expires.

Asked whether the EU had expected to be included in the U.S. action, Kallas replied: "Who can keep track of the tariffs going on and off? No, we were not expecting this."

The tariffs are the latest effort to restore President Donald Trump's campaign vision of a near-global tariff after the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year struck down the "reciprocal" tariffs he imposed under emergency powers in a bid to shrink the U.S. trade deficit.

Kallas said the EU will seek clarification from Washington, adding that the bloc had honoured commitments under a transatlantic trade agreement reached last year and viewed the new tariffs as a shock.