OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:35 AM – Monday, April 7, 2025
The European Union (EU) has seemingly conceded to President Donald Trump’s demands following his introduction of retaliatory tariffs — offering a “zero-for-zero” tariff resolution on all industrial goods.
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“We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trading partners,” stated European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday.
“Because Europe is always ready for a good deal. So we keep it on the table,” she continued. “We stand ready to negotiate with the US.”
“We are also prepared to respond through countermeasures and defend our interests.”
Von der Leyen’s remarks addressed President Trump’s imposition of a 20% tariff on all EU imports, as well as a varying range of tariffs applied to other countries globally.
The reciprocal tariffs have prompted some investors to panic, as financial markets across the globe have seen trillions of dollars in losses. However, the Trump administration has alsostressed that Americans just need to be patient, vowing that after the tariff “chaos” settles, the actions will result in more money coming in to the economy — with stocks rising once more.
Nevertheless, the European stock market saw its biggest one-day fall since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič later clarified Von der Leyen’s comments, explaining that the zero-for-zero deal would include automobiles, as well as all other industrial goods, like pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and plastic machinery.
The EU is rumored to announce retaliatory tariffs this week in response to President Trump’s 25% tariff on steel and aluminum, which went into effect last month.
The EU’s response followed after Special Government Employee (SGE) Elon Musk called for a “zero-tariff situation” between Europe and North America on Saturday.
“At the end of the day, I hope it’s agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk stated.
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