BNR's Lazea: If U.S. really levies 25% tariffs on all goods, Romania to be affected too

Romania has not been affected so far by the customs duties imposed by the U.S. on steel and aluminum, but the application of a 25% customs tariff on all goods would affect us, says the chief economist of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), Valentin Lazea."So far, the tariffs that have been applied to steel and aluminum have not affected us very much, because out of our exports to the U.S. worth about 2.3 billion [euros], only about 0.4 billion are steel, and aluminum is negligible. So it was a small fraction. Now, if he really puts tariffs of 25% on all goods, as it seems to be the case, but it has not yet been legislated, then, yes, we will be affected too. But anyway, the United States is not a partner. So 72% of our foreign trade is with EU states. But anyway, it will affect, it will definitely affect. So there will be an inflationary effect from this global increase in tariffs. And everyone wants to draw Trump's attention to this matter, but he is with America First", Valentin Lazea told the conference "Inflation, the Cost of Finance and Public Debt Management", organized by Oxygen Events.On Wednesday, the American President criticized the EU again, stating at the same time that the current European construction aims to "screw" the USA and threatening to impose 25% customs duties on European products."I love the countries of Europe. I love all these countries. But the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. That was the purpose of it and they've done a good job of it", declared the Republican President when convening his Cabinet for the first time at the White House.In June 2024, Dan-Andrei Muraru, Romania's ambassador to the United States, told AGERPRES that trade between Romania and the US reached 5.5 billion euros in 2023, up 10% from the previous year, but was still far from its potential."Last year there were imports and exports worth 5.5 billion euros. Annually, there is a natural increase, about 10%. Obviously, there is an increase every year, but it is far from the potential. I will give you some figures: Poland - United States 23-25 billion euros, Hungary, a country that is half the size of Romania in terms of population and certainly much smaller in terms of GDP - 10 billion euros with the USA. Czech Republic - United States 12 billion euros. So, we see significant differences and we believe that, beyond the fact that we have a historical delay due to the conditions that Romania went through, a long transition, we believe that some initiatives are missing, which could bring benefits in the field of start-ups, in the field of high technology, in the field of infrastructure, in the field of the automotive industry. We believe that there is a lot of potential", emphasized Muraru.