Trump's tariffs on EU autos show US to be unreliable, says EU trade chair

The sun shines behind European Union flags at the European Central Bank's (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, Thursday ahead a press conference on the Eurozone's monetary policy. AFP-Yonhap

BRUSSELS — U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement to increase tariffs on cars from the EU shows that the U.S. is an unreliable trading partner, EU parliament's trade committee Chair Bernd Lange said Friday.

"This latest move demonstrates just how unreliable the U.S. side is," Lange said. "This is no way to treat close partners. Now we can only respond with the utmost clarity and firmness, drawing on the strength of our position."

Lange said that Trump's behaviour is "unacceptable." He said the EU was honouring a framework trade deal struck with the U.S. in Scotland last year which imposed a 15 percent import tariff on most EU goods, averting a bigger trade war.

He said the U.S. had repeatedly breached the agreement, "for example with over 400 products containing steel and aluminium, which are now subject to an average tariff of 26 percent."