Greer: Washington to uphold tariff limits in agreements with European Union, Japan and others

(Patria) - The United States will respect tariff limits in trade agreements reached with the European Union, Japan and other countries, said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Reuters reported.

"We understand that an agreement is an agreement," Greer told reporters on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris.

Washington has reached agreements with Brussels and Tokyo that cap U.S. tariffs on most imports from the European Union or Japan at a maximum of fifteen percent.

However, Greer's office on Tuesday introduced a new set of tariffs for sixty countries after claiming they failed to curb trade in goods produced using forced labor in an investigation into unfair trade practices under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

He said the findings of another Section 301 investigation into structural excess production capacity in sixteen of America's largest trading partners, including China, the European Union and Japan, will be released in the coming weeks.

Tariffs resulting from that investigation could raise U.S. tariffs on goods from the European Union and Japan well above fifteen percent, unless limited by previously agreed trade agreements.

Regarding the trade agreement with the European Union, Greer said the agreement recognizes that the United States can impose tariffs "up to a certain level" and that the findings of the Section 301 investigation give U.S. President Donald Trump the authority to do so.

European Union Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčović, who spoke with Greer at the OECD meeting, said both sides agreed that "an agreement is an agreement," which for the European side means the terms agreed in Turnberry with a comprehensive tariff of fifteen percent.

Šefčović said European Union countries were surprised to find themselves targeted by tariffs over forced labor due to their high labor standards, but he expected the European Parliament to approve the Turnberry agreement with the Trump administration.

The European Union is working to introduce a ban by December 2027 across the bloc on all products involving forced labor, regardless of whether they originate from the European Union or a third country, he said.