EU trade ministers to discuss the United States and economic security

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will attend an informal meeting of EU trade ministers in Horsens, Denmark, on 13–14 October 2025. Items on the meeting’s agenda include EU–US trade relations and the trade policy aspects of economic security. The ministers will also discuss the EU’s ongoing negotiations with different trading partners.

EU trade ministers will discuss trade relations between the EU and the United States. The EU and the United States have held negotiations on various areas of their trade relations after the US imposed several new tariffs during the first half of the year. The parties reached agreement in July and published a joint statement in August on their trade relationship, including the level of duties in bilateral trade.

A stable transatlantic trading environment is in the interests of Finland and Finnish businesses. Adherence to the EU–US joint statement is crucial to safeguarding the conditions for transatlantic trade. The United States has extended its steel and aluminium tariffs to include derivative products and thus also products of Finnish mechanical engineering companies. In addition, the United States has opened new investigations to introduce tariffs for products such as medical devices, which form an important part of Finnish exports. Finland is actively influencing the European Commission, which conducts the negotiations with the United States, to secure the lowest possible tariffs for important Finnish products.

“The tariff increases imposed by the United States on Finnish mechanical engineering products are very unfortunate, and they will affect the competitiveness of Finnish businesses in the US market. I have addressed this with Trade Commissioner Šefčovič and will raise the issue at the meeting of EU trade ministers in Horsens. It is essential for both parties to the EU–US joint statement to adhere to what has been agreed upon,” says Minister Ville Tavio.

The trade ministers will also discuss the trade policy aspects of economic security. The discussion will take place against the backdrop of increasingly strained trade relations between the great powers and of China’s export controls, which have caused significant disruptions in the supply chains of critical raw materials in the European industry. It is important for Finland that the risks from critical dependencies are distributed by collaborating with like-minded countries and by opening up new markets.

Over lunch, the ministers will be briefed of the EU’s negotiations with various trade partners. Finland supports the swift conclusion of the EU trade negotiations and the prompt implementation of the agreements.