EU trade ministers criticize trade agreement between London and the USA

EU trade ministers have condemned the trade agreement between the US and the UK. They would not accept a similar deal to end the trade dispute.

Last week, the United Kingdom became the first country to sign a trade deal with the United States since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.

London won concessions on Trump's 25 percent tariffs on cars, aluminum, and steel, but British goods remain subject to a "universal" tariff of 10 percent.

"If the agreement between Great Britain and the USA is what Europe gets, then the USA must expect countermeasures from us," said Swedish Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa before a meeting with his European counterparts in Brussels on Thursday.

“I would hardly call it a trade agreement… The basic tariff is still there.”

Dousa's comments were echoed by Finnish Trade Minister Ville Tavio, who described the agreement as "by no means an optimal arrangement for the United Kingdom."

His French counterpart Laurent Saint-Martin also warned that the EU should be “vigilant” if it believes that “a halt to reciprocal tariffs of 10 percent would be good news.”

Polish Minister Michał Baranowski, whose country currently holds the six-month EU Council Presidency, also suggested that Europe would not be "satisfied" with a deal similar to the one reached by the United Kingdom. "I think we can reach a better agreement than staying with fairly high tariffs," he said.

Thursday's meeting comes on the 37th day of a 90-day US pause on so-called " reciprocal tariffs," which include a 20 percent tariff on EU exports.

Brussels has already threatened two separate retaliatory measures totaling €116 billion against US exports if no agreement is reached.

EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told reporters ahead of Thursday's meeting that he had a "constructive phone call" with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday in which both sides agreed to "intensify" technical discussions.

“A red line” against China

The ministers' comments also follow China's fierce criticism of the US-UK deal. Beijing argues that the deal would allow Washington to restrict Chinese investment in the UK.

Hungarian representative Levente Magyar warned that any pressure from Washington to 'decouple' from Beijing would represent a "red line" for Budapest.

The country maintains close economic ties with China, while its right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is one of Trump's closest political allies.

“We have excellent trade relations with China, and China has become one of the largest investors in Hungary,” Magyar said.

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