Paulo Rangel addressed the press at the Palácio da Justiça in Porto after submitting the AD coalition lists for the anticipated legislative elections in May, with the deadline ending today.
The lead candidate for Porto from the AD coalition highlighted that “the competence in the area of tariffs is exclusively that of the European Union” when asked if Portugal could emulate the Spanish government’s recent announcement of a 14.1 million euro support package for businesses affected by U.S. tariff measures on EU imports.
“Of course, national governments can play a role, but this must also be coordinated with the European Union, which is what we are doing”, stated Paulo Rangel. He acknowledged understanding the Spanish government’s urgency due to internal political issues but noted that “a significant portion of the support already existed.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently disclosed that the two Iberian governments are “in talks” regarding the tariffs, and the two “economy ministers have a meeting scheduled on this issue.”
“We have time to address this issue and will handle it with utmost care. You can be absolutely sure of that”, emphasized Paulo Rangel, arguing that there is no need for the government to rush.
He advocated for “an impact assessment in a credible manner rather than a demagogic approach of making an announcement on a day when the full implications are not yet clear.”
The social-democratic minister declared that the outgoing government is “in consultations with the European Commission, which has exclusive competence for tariff negotiations,” stressing the importance of considering “Portuguese interests” in the EU’s response.
“We have been working on this for weeks. That is, trying to protect in the response the European Union will provide, the Portuguese sectors that could be most affected”, he added, revealing that everything “will have its response in due time” and that “nothing is delayed,” with the response “expected shortly.”
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