EU trade ministers have criticized the UK’s trade agreement with the US, warning that the bloc may consider retaliatory measures against Washington unless it secures more favorable terms for the bloc.
The backlash follows a limited deal struck last week between US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which retains a 10% baseline tariff on British exports while easing higher duties on steel and cars.
Trump has introduced a series of tariffs targeting European carmakers and metal producers. On April 2, he announced a sharp increase on all EU imports but later scaled that back to 10% for 90 days to allow time for negotiations.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday ahead of an EU trade ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Sweden’s Trade Minister, Benjamin Dousa said, “If the UK-US deal is what Europe gets, then the US can expect countermeasures from our side.”
He added that he could “barely” call it a trade deal, noting that “the [10%] baseline is still there.”
Dousa’s concerns were echoed by his Finnish counterpart, Ville Tavio, who described the deal as “not an optimal agreement for the UK [by] any means.”
French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin urged caution, saying the bloc should be “vigilant” about thinking that “stopping at 10% reciprocal tariffs would be good news.”
Poland’s Michal Baranowski said the EU would not be “happy with” a UK-style arrangement. “I think we can have a better deal than staying with pretty high tariffs,” he argued.
The European Commission last week presented a list of countermeasures that could target €95 billion ($106 billion) worth of US goods, if talks with Washington stall.
Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro has warned the EU it would be “making a grave mistake” if it went ahead with its plans, calling the measures counterproductive.
The bloc had earlier paused retaliation after Washington temporarily held off raising tariffs for three months. This week, European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said he had spoken with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and agreed to intensify discussions.
If no deal is reached by early July, the tariff could rise to 20%, as Trump seeks to narrow the transatlantic trade deficit, which he blames on the EU.
Beyond the UK deal, Washington has also negotiated a partial rollback of sweeping tariffs with China. Beijing also criticized the UK-US agreement this week, accusing London of aligning with Washington under pressure. It argued the deal violates the “basic principle” that international agreements should not target third countries.
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