In this photo released by European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic on his official X account, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (left) and Sefcovic meet in Paris on May 5, 2026. (PHOTO / MAROS SEFCOVIC/X)
BRUSSELS – The European Union’s trade chief has urged the United States to quickly restore the tariff levels agreed under last year’s EU-US trade deal, the European Commission said on Tuesday.
The Commission added that it would be “beneficial” to have the main terms of the deal in place ahead of its first anniversary in July.
On the same day, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Paris, France. A key concern for the EU remains US President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on EU cars and trucks to 25 percent, according to Sefcovic.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that if a 25-percent US tariff were imposed on EU cars, the bloc should “activate” its anti-coercion instruments, denouncing what he described as “threats of destabilization”, according to French news channel BFM TV.
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“Agreements that have been signed must be respected,” said Macron, adding that if any country were threatened with tariffs, the EU has equipped itself with instruments that would need to be activated.
Under the EU-US trade deal reached in July 2025, the EU would suspend tariffs on all US industrial products and introduce tariff-rate quotas for a wide range of US agri-food products entering the EU market. In return, the United States would apply a 15-percent import tariff on most EU goods.