'I hope the British public see how practical it is,' EU Trade Commissioner says about EU-UK deal
In an interview with Euronews, Maros Šefčovič says a very important step has been taken towards a new chapter in bilateral relations.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/23/i-hope-the-british-public-see-how-practical-it-is-eu-trade-commissioner-says-about-eu-uk-d
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In an interview with Euronews, Maros Šefčovič says a very important step has been taken towards a new chapter in bilateral relations.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/23/i-hope-the-british-public-see-how-practical-it-is-eu-trade-commissioner-says-about-eu-uk-d
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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00:00Welcome to the Europe Conversation.
00:09My guest this week is EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.
00:13He's in the middle of a 90-day window of negotiations with the United States over trade tariffs.
00:19He says he's hoping for a fair and balanced outcome,
00:22but he says EU standards on food are not up for negotiation.
00:26Commissioner Sefcovic, EU Commissioner for Trade,
00:30thank you very much for joining us on the Europe Conversation.
00:33Thank you very much for the invitation.
00:34So we've been talking about Brexit for years,
00:37and there's always been a lot of rancour around the EU and the UK moving apart.
00:42But earlier this week, we saw a tiny movement towards each other.
00:46I mean, was that sort of a victory for you after all your years of turmoil?
00:50I think we really made a very important step forward,
00:55and we are opening really the new chapter in the EU-UK relations,
00:59and we clearly covered lots of ground also in the new areas
01:02where we were to cooperate much more and much more closely.
01:04But obviously you wouldn't have been surprised at some of the messaging in some of the UK press
01:09saying that Keir Starmer was stitched up like a kipper and this was a surrender summit.
01:13Did you get guarantees that a further government in five years' time or so in the UK,
01:18a Tory government, couldn't break the deal made from the UK and the EU?
01:23I think that they would do what is the best for the people.
01:28And I believe that the agreements we have reached today are the best for the UK citizens,
01:35the best for the EU, because we are eternal neighbours,
01:38we are the biggest trading partners, and we are closest to the lies.
01:43So if we want to restore the bridge building among the young people between the EU and the UK,
01:50if we want to make it easier for the farmers, for the fishers through the SPS agreement,
01:55and if we want to make it even better for the people from Northern Ireland,
01:59I think these are all very important messages,
02:02and I hope that also the people in the UK would see it like that,
02:06and the practical results and practical implementation of the agreements will just prove that.
02:09Getting back to, let's say, the EU and the US negotiations,
02:12nobody will forget where they were on April 2nd in the Rose Garden
02:15when the Trump administration applied huge tariffs to countries all across the world,
02:20including an island of penguins, as well as 20% tariffs on the European Union.
02:24But there is a 90-day pause on that for negotiations.
02:28That's coming up soon, in about a month and a half.
02:30Tell us where the negotiations are.
02:32I spent quite some time with my both interlocutors,
02:36with Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Lutnik, or U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Greer,
02:42and I have to say that we are almost in permanent touch.
02:46We are talking over the phone.
02:48We are communicating via all possible channels,
02:52and we are preparing for another round.
02:55I mean, we are ready to have technical discussions now on, I would say,
02:59the scoping process which we just completed.
03:02Is that new, though, Commissioner?
03:04Is that a decision in recent days that you've actually moved to a new raised position
03:08now that you're actually talking much more specific?
03:11Yeah, I think we are now on much more specific discussions.
03:14Of course, what is very important for us is that the deal,
03:18which I believe we will reach in the end, is fair and it's balanced,
03:23because I think this was a very, very clear message which I got
03:26when we've been debating this issue on the level of the trade ministers of the European Union.
03:32We, as the biggest trading partner of the United States,
03:37clearly deserve the equal treatment, fair treatment,
03:39and this is what we are aiming in the deal with the U.S.
03:42So what we proposed was several areas where we believe that we can achieve much more
03:46if we work jointly, you know, be it energy security,
03:50be it dependencies in the critical minerals,
03:53or be it the whole area of the digital cooperation.
03:57Because, as we know, the United States said 0% tariffs is a nice start,
04:00but we want greater access to your markets when it comes to agriculture.
04:03Is that a red line for the Commission,
04:05that it won't reduce scientific-based standards when it comes to agriculture production?
04:10I think we've been quite clear that we clearly would preserve our regulatory autonomy.
04:17And if I follow a little bit the discussion in the United States of America,
04:22I mean, there is also a lot of talk about, you know, having healthier food,
04:28what should be, you know, the composition of the food processing, and so on and so forth.
04:33And I think we already had this discussion in Europe,
04:36and we are very proud of our health and safety standards.
04:39If it comes to food, if it comes to agri-food production,
04:43we are going clearly to stick to them.
04:45So that's not going to happen, because that's something that they are being pushed for.
04:48They keep saying they don't take our meat, they don't take our agriculture products.
04:51Are you going to be able to change that in any way?
04:53It's not a 100% correct statement, because we take their products
04:58if they respect the health standards of the European Union.
05:03And as far as I'm following the discussions, in the U.S.,
05:06they are also kind of pointing into that direction to have healthier food,
05:11less chemicals, you know, more focus on the organic production,
05:15and all these things which already, I mean, we discussed and agreed upon in the EU.
05:20So everything depends on the standards.
05:22We respect American standards.
05:24We, of course, ask the Americans to respect the European standards.
05:26So that's not up for negotiation standards?
05:28I think if it comes to health and safety issues,
05:32I mean, clearly these are not up for negotiations.
05:34The other issue that they have is the VAT is a form of collecting tax.
05:37They say it's a non-tariff cheating.
05:40They don't really get that.
05:41Obviously, they pick up taxes in other ways, but VAT is a problem.
05:45Is that something? Is that a red line also for the EU?
05:47I think that it's not realistic to expect that now the 27 member states
05:53would change their budgetary procedures,
05:55because for us the VAT is a very important source of revenue for the government.
06:01And we, of course, spent quite a lot of time in explaining that the VAT is non-discriminatory,
06:07that it's levied on everyone, on European producers, on American producers,
06:11on Asian, on African producers.
06:14And on top of it, I think it's like more than 150 countries around the globe
06:18is using the VAT tax.
06:22Do they agree with that, though, because you haven't yet met the Senior Trade Secretary, Peter Navarro?
06:27So, Peter Navarro, I understand, is playing a very important role as advisor to President Trump.
06:34My two interlocutors are Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Havard Latnik,
06:39who has, I would say, huge authority over the issue of trade.
06:42And then, of course, the US Trade Representative, Ambassador Greer.
06:46So, these are my two principal interlocutors.
06:48We are always happy to talk also to Mr. Navarro if there will be availability.
06:54And you talked about the tech industry and how you could engage with the tech industry in the United States.
07:00That's something we've heard for quite some time.
07:02They would like to weaken the regulatory standards of the Digital Service Act
07:06and the Digital Markets Act.
07:08I mean, is that something that the EU may have to look at doing,
07:11because the tech industry does really have a lot of influence in the White House?
07:16If we agree on the, let's say, basic principle that what is illegal offline should be illegal online,
07:24so then I think we have a common understanding that we should be able also to enforce this principle in practice.
07:30And this is what our digital legislation is about.
07:33I was also explaining to our American interlocutors that if it comes to, let's say, the dominant position of the market,
07:41it's very often the medium-sized and small American companies based in the EU
07:46who are pointing out to some of the, let's say, anomalies on the markets.
07:50And this is what we are discussing with the big tech.
07:53But, as I said, we are always ready to debate all these issues in a friendly manner with the US.
07:59We, as you know, we go through quite an important process of simplification on parts of our legislation.
08:06But I think that for the big tech of the US, we are a very important market.
08:12For some of them, we have more subscribers here in Europe than in the US.
08:16I understand that it's somewhere between 30% to 50% of the revenue they are generating in Europe.
08:24So it's only logical.
08:26OK, so the other issue is making up the 15 billion euro deficit in trade of goods that the US and the EU have.
08:35The idea being to buy more from America.
08:38What areas would you look at?
08:39How would you get consumers to buy more?
08:41And how would it look like the EU could buy more from the United States to, I suppose, fill that gap?
08:46I think that first and foremost, there's clearly the huge potential.
08:51And I would say on the both sides.
08:53Because, I mean, we have also lots of products which are totally indispensable for the United States of America.
09:00And we also recognize the fact that if you take into account trade in goods and services, so the overall deficit is a little bit more than 50 billion euros.
09:11We have difference of opinion on that figure, but I think if you take into account internationally recognized category, trade in goods and services.
09:20So it's 50 billion, which I think comparing to 1.6 trillion of euros, it's really a small sum of money.
09:26And we should be able to solve that.
09:28So coming to the concrete categories, if it comes to energy security, I was responsible for the common purchase of gas where the US LNG was playing a crucial role.
09:38I know that our farmers are in need of soybean support.
09:44I know that we want to build a robust AI infrastructure in Europe.
09:52And you simply need these high quality AI chips, which also, and it runs into the billions and billions.
09:58And the UK just finished its trade negotiation with the US, but has accepted a 10% tariff baseline.
10:04Is that something that you think the EU might have to concede in order to get past this?
10:08Because as we know, we're coming up to the end of the 90 days and there hasn't been sort of an end to the negotiations yet.
10:15What was very clear message I got from our trade ministers was that they insist on having a balanced deal with the US.
10:25So, of course, we are ready to negotiate with our American partners.
10:29We would look for the balanced deal.
10:32Our UK partners, they concluded the negotiations.
10:39Of course, there is a lot what is in the paper.
10:42There is a lot which still have to be worked out because it was, I think, a very important framework agreement with a lot of things to be done in the future.
10:52But you couldn't accept 10% tariffs, though, could you?
10:55I mean, what we want is a symmetrical, fair deal, and this is what we'll be pushing for.
11:00Okay. Because the countermeasures, of course, that the EU has ready to go if the negotiations fail, I mean, there's things like whiskey and bourbon are on them.
11:08A lot of countries in negotiation to make sure that wasn't on the list.
11:11Are you concerned about the implications of moving forward after 90 days without an end to the negotiations?
11:16If you look at the measures, which some of them are already imposed by the US, we are already paying 10% tariff, we are already paying 25% tariff for steel, we are already paying 25% for cars.
11:30And we really believe that this is simply not fair.
11:33So we want to resolve it through the negotiated solutions.
11:38But, of course, we are also preparing alternatively, we would have to protect the European jobs and European companies.
11:45And, therefore, we started the consultations on eventual rebalancing measures.
11:50Okay. Commissioner Shefsevich, thank you very much for joining us on the Europe Conversation.
11:54Thank you very much for inviting me.
11:55Thank you very much.