LAST UPDATE | 7 Apr 2025

EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU had offered the United States “zero-for-zero” tariffs on flows of industrial goods as it works to avert an all-out transatlantic trade war.

“We stand ready to negotiate with the United States,” said von der Leyen today.

“Indeed, we have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods, as we have successfully done with many other trading partners, because Europe is always ready for a good deal,” she said, adding that the offer was made before Trump’s announcement last week of sweeping new tariffs.

The planned blanket 20% tariff on EU goods is set to come into effect on Wednesday.

It follows previous US announcements of tariffs on aluminium and steel, and one on all foreign cars last month.

Tánaiste Simon Harris has sounded a similar message following a meeting of EU trade ministers in Luxembourg.

The meeting is an effort to pave a path forward in response to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Harris, who is also minister for trade, attended on behalf of Ireland.

The meeting had been called to allow EU ministers to exchange views and share insights after last week’s sweeping tariffs announcement by Trump.

“Our message from today’s EU Trade Meeting in Luxembourg is clear and unified,” said Harris.

“Europe stands ready to negotiate a way forward with the US immediately. This would end uncertainty and find an agreement that is good for all.”

Our message from today’s EU Trade Meeting in Luxembourg is clear and unified. Europe stands ready to negotiate a way forward with the US immediately. This would end uncertainty and find an agreement that is good for all

— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) April 7, 2025

Meanwhile, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said the EU is willing to deploy “every tool” to protect itself from the impact of tariffs should negotiations fail.

“We are prepared to use every tool in our trade defence arsenal to protect the EU single market, EU producers and EU consumers,” Sefcovic told reporters after a meeting of the bloc’s trade ministers.

Elsewhere, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has called on the EU to engage with the US on the potential countermeasures the bloc is willing to take.

Asked today about countermeasures, Martin said they “must be designed strategically so that they do not, insofar as possible, bring more damage on to the European economy”.

“The only way to ease the carnage on the stock markets is for a negotiated pathway between the US and the EU.”

He also described the formula used to arrive at the 20% figure as “crude”.

“The beauty of the modern world is that it’s interdependent,” said Martin.

“So I think the mistake being made with crude tariffs is it’s kind of a 19th century sort of solution or response to a 21st century economy.”

Pharmaceuticals are currently exempt from the 20% tariffs but the US administration has previously said it would consider taxing such imports.

Martin said there’s “a lot to play for yet on the pharma side”.

‘We need to find a way forward’

Speaking before the Luxembourg meeting, Harris remarked that it is “abundantly clear to anybody who was under any illusion in relation to this that tariffs are really bad”.

He added: “They’re bad for the US economy, they’re bad for the European economy, and they’re bad for the Irish economy. We need to find a negotiated way forward.”

As he arrived at today’s meeting, Harris further remarked that Ireland’s position is that any responding action from the EU must be done to “de-escalate” and to “get to a point of negotiation”.

“The turmoil seen in global stock markets and global markets is a real indication of the pain that tariffs are causing and will cause not just to economies but also to individual citizens in Europe and in the United States of America,” he said.

On the prospect of potential EU targeting of US tech firms – which have a heavy presence in Ireland – in retaliation, Harris said that would be an “extraordinary escalation at a time when we must be working for de-escalation”.

“It is in many ways the nuclear option if you start talking about the use of the anti-coercion instruments (ACI). What we need to do here is step-by-step, in a measured way, consider how best to respond,” he said.

Harris added that the “majority view” within the EU is “not in that space of going near ACI at this moment in time”.

He said the consensus rather is around “looking to see how we can respond in the first instance to the steel and aluminum tariffs and then how we can get to a position of negotiation”.

On whether the Irish government will be providing supports to businesses in Ireland affected by the US tariffs, he said that it will be “kept under review” whether there is a need for such supports.

Also on the agenda at today’s meeting in Luxembourg was trade between the EU and China.

Ministers were expected to discuss the potential impact that heightened tensions with the US have on the EU’s trading relationship with China. 

On China, the Tánaiste said: “We should not close ourselves off to trading with China.

“Engagement and dialogue remain necessary, including to make clear to China the problems we face with its non-market policies and practices, as well as our resolve to act to defend fair competition and a level playing field.

“When I met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in late February, I stressed these very points.”

US meeting

Later this week, Harris is set to visit Washington DC where he is expected to meet with US secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick on Wednesday.

Asked about the purpose of the meeting yesterday, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe told RTÉ Radio’s News at One that Harris will be using it as an opportunity to make the case for the strength of the US-Ireland relationship. 

He said it will complement efforts already underway by the EU to negotiate with the US. 

Lutnick has previously been critical of Ireland’s tax arrangements, claiming it runs a trade surplus at America’s expense.

Harris held a late-night call with Lutnick a number of weeks ago, which the Fine Gael minister described as a “useful opportunity to exchange views”.

Additional reporting by Lauren Boland and Press Association