Paris (EFE).- Agreements are meant to be kept. The aforementioned message was delivered by the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, to the United States Trade Representative, James Greer, in Paris on Tuesday, in response to US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 25% tariff on European vehicles.
«A deal is a deal, and we have a deal. And the essence of this deal is prosperity, common rules and reliability,» also said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday.
During the hour-and-a-half-long meeting, Šefčovič conveyed the message to Greer in person and asked the US government to immediately apply the general 15% tariff on European products that Brussels and Washington agreed upon in the Turnberry Agreement, which was signed in Jul. 2025 at one of Trump’s Scottish golf courses, according to an EC spokesperson.
As of Friday, the US President reimposed 25% tariffs on the import of European vehicles, as he remains dissatisfied that the agreement is still pending ratification by European institutions.
On Wednesday, the European Commission, the Council of the EU, and the European Parliament are scheduled to meet with an uncertain goal of approving the pact. Šefčovič will have the opportunity to inform Greer about the outcome on the sidelines of the G7 trade ministers’ meeting in Paris.
The ministerial meeting began on Tuesday with informal exchanges and debates on industrial overcapacity, and critical minerals. However, the new US tariff threats on European vehicles are off the official agenda.
On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron also weighed in on the transatlantic tug-of-war from Yerevan. He considers that the EU should activate its anti-coercion instruments if Washington imposes a 25% tariff on cars and trucks manufactured in the EU. Macron considers Trump’s threats to do so «destabilizing.»
The EU’s anti-coercion instrument is a trade tool that would allow the EU to impose 93 billion euros in tariffs on the US, a possibility discussed during the diplomatic crisis over control of Greenland.
European hurdle
The Council (the countries) and the European Parliament must now agree on the safeguards requested by the European Parliament to paralyze the application of the pact if new tariff threats arise.
A group of countries led by Germany opposes this, as does the European Commission, which wants to apply the pact signed by Von der Leyen and Trump.
In contrast, France, Spain, Finland, and Luxembourg support the European Parliament’s position.
US point of view
On Tuesday, Greer appeared in Paris via video at an event organized by the French business federation Medef for the G7 Trade Ministerial.
After recalling that Washington considers trade policy to be «domestic policy,» Greer emphasized that «the US is taking action unilaterally, but also together with willing partners,» making no mention of the tariff conflict.
However, Greer said on Monday that Trump will go ahead with his threat to impose a 25% tariff on cars and trucks manufactured in the EU in the coming days. He expressed frustration that the 27 countries agreed to modify several of their regulations or grant certain flexibilities to the US, «but have not done anything.»
He also complained that the process in the European Parliament has been very slow and involves a series of amendments that would limit US exports and restrict the scope of the agreement.
«At a certain point, after discussing this with our European colleagues over many, many months, President Trump decided that if the Europeans aren’t implementing the deal right now, then we don’t have to implement all of it either at this time,» Greer insisted.
It is unclear under what authority Trump will raise tariffs on vehicles manufactured in the EU after the US Supreme Court invalidated many of the tariffs he had already set in February. EFE
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