Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stated that Budapest deliberately chose not to support the European Union’s introduction of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
According to him, this decision proved to be far-sighted after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day suspension of new tariffs for countries that did not introduce countermeasures.
We were right again! We were the only EU member state that did not vote in favor of Brussels’ retaliatory tariffs against the United States. And by the evening, President Trump announced a 90-day suspension of tariffs for those who refrained from imposing countermeasures. Didn’t we say it? Strategic calm! Szijjártó wrote on his Facebook page.
On April 1, the United States introduced “reciprocal” tariffs on imports from other countries. The base rate was set at 10%, but for 57 countries, tariffs were significantly increased—based on the size of the U.S. trade deficit with each country. However, on April 9, Donald Trump announced that 75 countries had not introduced retaliatory measures and had requested negotiations. As a result, the basic 10% import tariff will apply to them for the next 90 days, with China being the only exception.
Experts note that the new U.S. measures could deal a significant blow to the European Union’s economy. The total amount of tariffs on European goods exported to the U.S. could rise from €7 billion to €80 billion. Around 70% of the EU’s exports—worth approximately €380 billion—could be subject to tariffs ranging from 20% to 25%.
According to Trump, the new tariff policy is intended to be a “declaration of economic independence” for the United States and to help channel “trillions and trillions of dollars” toward reducing the national debt.
