The Minister of Economy, Trade, and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, has indicated that he believes the European Union is «not» at a «red line» regarding the tariffs imposed by the administration of Donald Trump, and has assured that «there is a willingness to reach an agreement» on both sides.
«I think right now we are not at a red line in terms of a specific final figure for tariffs. What Ambassador Greer has conveyed to me is that they want to reduce the imbalance and trade deficit they have with the rest of the world. And what we need to do is find a way to approach this problem in a way that benefits everyone,» he said on Thursday in statements to the media.
This comes after the meeting he held in Washington with the U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, to further deepen the bilateral relationship between the two countries in commercial matters and within the current tariff conflict.
«We have been discussing the possible path to an agreement between the European Union and the United States and how from both sides, this is a message I want to highlight, there is a willingness to reach an agreement and to do so within the framework of the 90 days we have given ourselves to negotiate,» he emphasized.
He indicated that it was a «very constructive» and «open» meeting where he discussed with Greer «the imbalances in global trade terms» and «what could be the ways to solve or reduce them.»
GOOGLE TAX
Asked whether issues such as the so-called Google tax or defense spending were discussed in the meeting, Cuerpo replied that «the element of taxes on digital services was mentioned as a concern by the United States.»
In this regard, he stated that the possible concerns of the U.S. government were discussed «in a general way» and «without going into details» because «it is up to the negotiators and in the case of the European Union, to Commissioner Sefcovic.»
«We are in the early stages of negotiations, where the details regarding the dimensions of this framework need to be defined and they are working on that. I think we need to give these meetings time so that we are first able to put this detailed framework on the table and second to precisely iron out those differences and reach an agreement,» he explained.
