Economy minister: Romania supports EC strategy to continue dialogue with US to negotiate new trade tariffs

Romania supports the European Commission's strategy to continue dialogue with the United States in order to negotiate new trade tariffs in the interest of member states, announced Minister of Economy, Digitisation, Entrepreneurship and Tourism Bogdan Ivan."At the meeting of the European Affairs Council for Trade, we supported Romania's position: we support the European Commission's strategy to continue dialogue with the United States to negotiate new trade tariffs in the interest of Romania and the member states. We maintain a firm, proportional, and well-calibrated approach in defending our economic interests. In discussions with Maros Sefcovic, the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, I reaffirmed that the US remains a strategic and commercial partner essential for Romania and the European Union," the minister wrote on his Facebook page on Monday evening.Earlier, the European Trade Commissioner said that the European Union's retaliatory measures against the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration will target US imports worth less than 26 billion euros, after taking into account the wishes of the member states, Reuters reports.According to the broad tariffs announced by the Washington Administration, imports of steel, aluminum, and cars from the 27 EU member states will be subject to 25% customs duties.We want to ensure that the burden is shared fairly among all member states, Sefcovic added.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a conversation with representatives from the metals industry and will later discuss with representatives from the automotive industry on how the EU will respond to the American tariffs.On Monday, Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Union is ready to negotiate with the United States to reach an agreement on the tariffs, but at the same time, it is preparing measures to defend its interests. We have offered 'zero for zero' tariffs for industrial goods, as we successfully did with many other trading partners, because Europe is always ready for a good agreement, so we keep it on the table. But we are also prepared to respond with countermeasures and defend our interests, von der Leyen said.The European Union's Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), in its Trade configuration, met on April 7, 2025, in Luxembourg. The agenda included the EU's trade relations with the US and China.