European Union Council has said that United States’ removal of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports is not a necessary precondition for trade talks between the United States and the European Union to begin.
The council’s representative to the G20, Hubert Fuchs, made this known on Sunday.
Fuchs’ comments followed that of French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, on Saturday, that the United States must drop the tariffs before talks can start.
Maire was at the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“We are representing 28 member states of the European Union, not only Germany and France. We shouldn’t have any preconditions for the talks,” Fuchs, also Austria’s state secretary for finance, said in an interview. “It’s not a precondition because preconditions are never good, but it would be a great wish.”
Agency Report