European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday the EU had offered the United States a bilateral tariff exemption for cars and other industrial goods as it works to avert an all-out transatlantic trade war.
"We stand ready to negotiate with the United States. Indeed, we have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods, as we have successfully done with many other trading partners," she said.
"The offer was made long before and repeatedly, for example, in the automotive sector," she said, without providing a precise timeline.
She added that "there was not an adequate reaction" from Washington.
"Europe is always ready for a good deal. So we keep it on the table," she said.
The commission later clarified that the offer was part of the ongoing negotiations between EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and the US authorities.
Von der Leyen repeated Europe's threat that should negotiations fail, the commission was "prepared to respond through countermeasures and defend our interests."
She also vowed the EU would protect itself from a flow of cheap goods into the bloc, especially from China, in an expected indirect impact from Trump's extra levies.
Billionaire US presidential adviser Elon Musk sparked confusion at the weekend when he said he hoped Europe and the United States would agree to join in a free-trade zone -- days after US leader Donald Trump unleashed heavy global trade tariffs.
Europe's reaction to Musk's comments was mixed on Monday, with French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin describing it as "a great idea" before talks with his EU counterparts in Luxembourg.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani went further, describing how his "dream is to have a transatlantic European market that is a single market where there are no tariffs."
But Germany, the EU's biggest economy, poured cold water on the idea and suggested Musk was motivated by fear that trade turmoil would hurt his companies, including Tesla.
"If he has something to say, he should go to his president and say, 'Before we talk about zero tariffs, let's stop the nonsense, the mess you have just made in the last week.' So this is ridiculous," German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said.
AFP
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