State Secretary: Government presses Brussels to reach deal with Washington on tariffs
Levente Magyar warned that the punitive tariffs would have serious economic consequences.
Levente Magyar warned that the punitive tariffs would have serious economic consequences.
President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the European Union will face a 30 percent tariff on imports to the US from August 1.
Levente Magyar called out the European Commission for its "belated response" to the reciprocal tariffs and said it "should have done a better job".
The matter of the tariff war should be "left to the experts", the prime minister said, "while our attention and energy ought to be directed to Ukraine's EU membership".
"Yesterday, Hungary was the only EU member state that didn't support Brussels' counter-tariffs against the US. Last night, President Trump suspended tariffs for 90 days for those who didn't retaliate," Minister Szijjártó said.
Minister Szijjártó said the retaliatory tariffs would result in significant price rises.
“We do not want high tariffs, we want low tariffs," said Minister Szijjártó.
Rather than curbing competition through tariffs, the EU should bolster the global competitiveness of the European vehicle industry, Minister Nagy said.