EU to respond firmly to any violations of EU-US trade agreement

Brussels — The European Commission stated on Thursday (12 March) that it will respond in a “firm and proportional” manner to any violation of commitments under the European Union-United States trade agreement, following Washington’s launch of a Section 301 investigation targeting 16 economic entities, including the EU.

Deputy Commission Spokesperson Olof Gill stated during a press conference that the Commission would carefully review the details of the US investigation and continue to ensure that EU interests are fully protected.

Gill added that the European Commission would seek further clarification from Washington on how the Section 301 investigation would interact with the framework agreed upon in the EU-US joint statement.

“The European Commission will respond firmly and proportionally to any violation of commitments in the joint statement,” Gill said.

Under the EU-US trade agreement reached in July of last year, the EU agreed to eliminate tariffs on all US industrial products and implement tariff quotas for various US agri-food products entering the EU market.

In return, Washington will set a tariff ceiling of 15 percent for most EU goods exported to the United States.