EU Will Make Case for US Tariff Cuts While Readying Countermeasures

Brussels Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is set to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at a gathering in Paris on June 4.

EU flags flutter in Brussels, Belgium, on April 20, 2016. Francois Lenoir/Reuters

The European Union said on June 2 that it would make a strong case for tariff cuts with the United States this week, while also readying countermeasures should a deal be unreachable.

A spokesperson for the 27-nation bloc’s executive branch, the European Commission, which oversees trade policy, said it was prioritizing negotiations, days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would double import duties on steel and aluminum from 25 percent to 50 percent.