Hungary became the only EU country to oppose the introduction of retaliatory tariffs in response to US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on steel and aluminum from the bloc, Politico reports, UNN writes.
Only Hungary opposed the package, while the remaining 26 countries voted in favor
"Escalation is not the answer. Such measures will cause even more damage to the European economy and citizens by raising prices. The only way forward is negotiations, not retaliation," Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto said in his post on X.
According to the publication, fourteen EU countries had to vote against the retaliatory measures, which was considered unlikely, given the demonstration of unity in recent weeks.
According to the decision announced by the European Commission, the EU may apply retaliatory tariffs on almost 21 billion euros of goods from the US, such as soybeans, motorcycles and orange juice, "after the 27 countries of the bloc agreed to the measures on Wednesday," Politico writes.
In response to US President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum, the European Union's countermeasures will be applied in three rounds. Measures covering trade worth EUR 3.9 billion will take effect next week, a further EUR 13.5 billion from mid-May, and the final round of EUR 3.5 billion in December.
These measures are not yet a response to Trump's introduction of 20 percent "reciprocal" tariffs on all EU exports, which took effect on Wednesday, and his latest 25 percent tariff on cars. Trump also said that a duty on pharmaceuticals will be introduced soon.
The European Commission is considering moving forward with its countermeasures to these tariffs as early as next week. "This is definitely going to happen soon. I expect it could happen as early as next week," said European Commission trade spokesman Olof Gill on Tuesday.
Trump is demanding that the EU reduce its trade surplus with the US, for example by buying unrealistic volumes of gasoline or lowering safety standards for cars, the publication writes.
While Europe does sell more goods to Americans, the US, in turn, runs a surplus when it comes to services, the publication notes. Overall, trade relations worth EUR 1.3 trillion have shrunk by only EUR 50 billion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen revived the idea of abolishing all industrial tariffs this week - as part of a "zero for zero" agreement - on a reciprocal basis.