“We cannot hide that we are still far from reaching an agreement,” stated the minister in Washington, during the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, referring to his “heated” discussions with American officials.
Washington has already imposed an additional 10% tariff on European products entering the United States, with Trump threatening to increase this surcharge to 20%. Furthermore, duties of 25% have been imposed on steel, aluminum, and automobiles.
The minister mentioned that this week he met with Kevin Hassett, the chief economic advisor to the White House, and Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, as well as his counterpart Scott Bessent during the finance ministers’ meetings in Washington.
“I felt the desire of our counterparts to move as quickly as possible,” he said, noting that Europeans were described as “friends and allies” in the context of these negotiations.
Eric Lombard mentioned that during his meeting with Howard Lutnick, “several areas of work” were opened to eliminate trade barriers between the two partners.
“We are trying to find topics on which we can move forward usefully,” he added, stating that he was trying to move out of “a somewhat stalled situation.”
Eric Lombard believes that the new tariffs mainly affect the United States economy. “We hope that this internal impact will lead the administration to propose adjustments,” he said.
“We want tariffs to revert to the previous situation and, if possible, even lower,” he emphasized.
The minister also noted a “change of environment” since his last visit to Washington, where he accompanied French President Emmanuel Macron.
The European Union has been seeking a solution for weeks to the trade dispute triggered by Donald Trump shortly after his return to the White House, with the American president accusing U.S. trading partners of “stealing” from his country.
