“Hopefully we will be able to have a positive agenda with the U.S. side, with no tariffs or quotas. Realistically, however, we do not think we can hope for that,” European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström said. | John Thys/Getty Images EU trade chief: U.S. likely to impose trade penalties Friday

PARIS — European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström said Wednesday that it is realistic to expect the United States to impose tariffs or quotas against European steel and aluminum exports starting Friday.

“Hopefully we will be able to have a positive agenda with the U.S. side, with no tariffs or quotas. Realistically, however, we do not think we can hope for that,” Malmström said in a statement issued after meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.


A European diplomat said EU countries had been told by the commission “to prepare for the worst.”

Earlier Wednesday, Ross told a panel at an intergovernmental meeting that the European Union should still negotiate a trade deal with the U.S. even if President Donald Trump imposes tariffs or quotas.

Sign up for Morning Trade A speed read on global trade news — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

“There can be negotiations with or without tariffs in place,” he said. “There are plenty of tariffs the EU has on us. It’s not that we can’t talk just because there’s tariffs.”

Asked about talks for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which was negotiated under the Obama administration, the commerce secretary said it is “not quite accurate to say the U.S. stopped the talks on TTIP” when Trump entered the White House.

Ross claimed the U.S. had used “every single public speaking engagement” to signal that “we’re prepared to engage with the EU.” However, “the EU has showed relatively limited interest in serious negotiation with us,” he argued.

This article tagged under: TPP

EU

Wilbur Ross