The introduction of new tariffs by the USA was an unpleasant surprise for the EU, said Kallas.
24-07-2026 13:48 Politics
tert.am Brussels will demand clarifications from Washington regarding the imposition of new tariffs, which has become an unpleasant surprise for the community. This was stated by the head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, in an interview with Reuters.
«We had an agreement with America, and we were adhering to that agreement. The failure to uphold these arrangements has become an unpleasant surprise for us,» Kallas said.
Moreover, she pointed out the baselessness of the new restrictions. According to her, European labor legislation is better than the American one, there are paid vacations in the community countries, and there are very good working conditions.
The tariffs came into effect on July 24 at 00:01 Eastern Time (07:01 Moscow Time). For goods that were in the process of being transported at that time, the implementation of the new tariffs has been postponed until July 28.
Recall that earlier the U.S. had decided to impose tariffs on trade partners under the pretext of combating forced labor. The rates will range from 10% to 12.5%. The restrictive measures will apply to 60 countries, including EU member states. The new tariffs will effectively replace the temporary global tariffs on U.S. imports that had been in effect since February 24 for a period of 150 days.
* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
ENGLISH
