Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the European economy is once again paying the price of "the incompetence of Brussels bureaucrats" who have failed to avoid the imposition of US tariffs through negotiations, "as they have been idle in the past months".
Minister Szijjártó said Donald Trump was elected in November 2024, and "it was known that he would conduct a patriotic economic policy which may include raising tariffs."
"And yet, Brussels has done nothing about the issue ... they didn't come up with a single offer of negotiations with the US that could be taken seriously."
"Now, everyone is wailing and whining about the US tariffs. But the question is, where was Brussels? Where were the well-paid bureaucrats of the European Commission in the past months?" Minister Szijjártó said.