Bratislava – The imposition of high tariffs on steel and aluminum from Europe is a sign of distrust from U.S. President Donald Trump towards the strength of the European Union (EU), which he does not respect. Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated this in a video on social media. However, he has no doubt that the opposition will blame the Prime Minister and the entire government coalition for the high American tariffs.

The EU’s inability to compete with the United States will, according to Fico, lead the “big boys” in Europe to several decisions. “Firstly, that Europe will buy more and more gas and oil from the United States. So one eastern dependency will be replaced by a western one. Secondly, as stated by the NATO Secretary-General, Europe will pay the United States for weapons for Ukraine. And thirdly, Europe will agree to a brutal increase in defense spending without much resistance,” he enumerated.

According to him, decisive European players will then rely on the American president reconsidering the new tariffs. “In case he does not reconsider, we must at least have a premonition of what the decision to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum will mean for the whole Union and Slovakia and what protective measures we are capable of adopting, including the interest in maintaining quality Euro-Atlantic decisions,” added Fico.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order on Monday (10.2.) implementing 25% tariffs on the import of steel and aluminum to the United States without exceptions. During his first term, he imposed tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum. However, he later granted exemptions to several trading partners, including the EU, Great Britain, Canada, and Mexico.

The European Commission (EC) announced before this decision that it would respond to potential U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum originating from EU countries. According to the EC, the imposition of tariffs by the U.S. administration would be “illegal and economically counterproductive,” especially given the deeply integrated production chains that the EU and the USA have jointly created through transatlantic trade and investments. (February 11)

“In case he does not reconsider, we must at least have a premonition of what the decision to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum will mean for the whole Union and Slovakia and what protective measures we are capable of adopting, including the interest in maintaining quality Euro-Atlantic decisions.” Robert Fico.