That trade deal, which President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen clinched at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, sets a baseline tariff of 15 percent on most EU imports to the U.S., while the EU committed to cutting most of its own tariffs to zero. At the time, the EU and the U.S. pledged to work together to reduce tariffs on steel and aluminum — but remained vague on the details.
After the Europeans raised the steel tariffs on Monday, Lutnick responded by calling on the EU to “analyze their digital rules, trying to come away with a balance … not put them away, but find a balanced approach that works with us.”
“And if they can come up with that balanced approach, which I think they can, then we will, together with them, handle the steel and aluminum issues and bring that on together,” he added.
Lutnick’s remarks signal a departure from the previous U.S. position, which threatened to retaliate against the bloc’s digital laws, while advocating for light-touch artificial intelligence regulation.
Lutnick sold the loosening of the bloc’s digital rules as an “opportunity” for the EU, offering U.S. investment in return, mainly through data centers that could power artificial intelligence.
“If the European Union can find a way to have a balanced digital set of rules, I think the European Union can see $1 trillion of investment,” he said.