Musk expresses hope for US-EU free trade following tariff frenzy

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
5 Apr 2025 21:59

Elon Musk, Donald Trump's close adviser, has expressed hopes for a free-trade zone between the United States and the European Union.

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Elon Musk attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, Monday, March 24, 2025 (AP)

Billionaire and US presidential adviser Elon Musk said Saturday that he hopes Europe and the United States will agree to form a free-trade zone, following President Donald Trump's recent imposition of broad tariffs on global trade.

The sweeping tariffs announced by Trump earlier in the week rattled global markets, alarmed allies, and sparked concerns that countries, including the European Union, might respond with their own trade barriers.

The EU, which is facing a 20% tariff, has already pledged to respond “in a calm, carefully phased, unified way,” according to EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic.

"I hope that the United States and Europe can establish a very close partnership," Musk said in a video message addressed to members of Italy's far-right La Liga party.

"I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free-trade zone between Europe and North America," he added in the video, which was shared on X by La Liga’s leader, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.

Musk also voiced support for greater freedom of movement between Europe and North America for employment purposes.

"That has certainly been my advice to the president," he noted. However, he reiterated his opposition to what he described as mass immigration.

EU retaliation to US tariffs could extend 'beyond customs duties'

The European Union's retaliation to the newly-imposed 20% tariff by the United States on the bloc, may not be limited to reciprocal duties on American imports, French Economy Minister Eric Lombard said on Friday.

"We are working on a response package that could indeed go beyond customs duties to bring the Americans to the negotiating table and reach a balanced agreement..." Lombard told RMC Radio on Friday, adding that the EU's response can be firm without mirroring the US approach., as tariffs on imports from the US could harm the bloc.

The minister called on French companies to demonstrate solidarity and patriotism in the face of the US measures while stressing that Europe must stand its ground against global powers "because we are now in a period of confrontation against the planet’s major blocs: the US, Russia and China. Europe has what it takes to rise to the occasion, but it requires effort."

Previously on Thursday, French President Emmanuelle Macron urged national companies to halt any investments in the US until greater clarity emerges regarding the specifics of Trump's proposed tariffs, as the world prepares to go to a trade war with the US over its tariff bombardment policy.