BRUSSELS: The EU's trade chief said Tuesday his US counterparts had told him Washington stands by a key trade deal with the bloc, following an adverse Supreme Court decision on President Donald Trump's tariffs.
After the Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump lacks authority to impose levies under a 1977 law, the US leader responded with fresh tariffs of 10% on imported goods -- which Trump has vowed to hike further to 15%.
That raised complex questions about what the new duties mean for the EU deal clinched last year with Trump, which imposed 15% tariffs on most EU goods.
"I have been in constant touch with my counterparts, and they both reassured me they stand by the deal with the European Union," Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told EU lawmakers.
The top trade negotiator also touched on another sensitive topic in transatlantic ties: Trump's 50% duties on steel and aluminium imports, which the EU has been pushing to bring down.
The president expanded levies on the metals in August to include several hundred products that contain steel or aluminium.
Sefcovic said he discussed how to address the issue with his US counterparts.
"I hope we can find solutions in this matter very soon," he told the European Parliament's trade committee.
The bloc's parliament put the EU-US deal on ice Monday as it sought more clarity on the fallout from the Supreme Court ruling, only a day before the committee was due to give its green light.
Sefcovic said he understood the body's decision, but added: "It is imperative we keep the process moving forward in implementing our commitments."
EU member states' representatives in Brussels heard from the EU executive on Monday, and a European diplomat said everyone agreed "a deal is a deal".
The EU executive told senior diplomats that if imports face a blanket 10% levy, pre-existing duties could mean some products are taxed at a higher rate than the trade deal's 15%.
Another concern is that Trump's new flat levy could apply indifferently to the EU and to countries that made fewer trade concessions to Washington -- and were therefore previously taxed at a much higher rate.
"The EU now loses a comparative advantage vis-a-vis other countries, which was what made the deal palatable in the first place," the diplomat told AFP.
