France: Treasury's Bessent Receptive to Zero Reciprocal Tariffs

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is receptive to the idea of cutting tariffs on industrial goods trade between the European Union and the United States, French Finance Minister Eric Lombard said Wednesday.

The U.S. imposed 25% tariffs on EU cars, steel, and aluminum in March and 20% tariffs on other EU goods in April. It then halved the 20% rate until July 8, opening a 90-day window for talks to reach a more comprehensive tariff deal.

In response, the EU suspended its own tariffs on some U.S. goods and proposed zero tariffs for all industrial goods on both sides.

"We want to get not only to the previous [tariff] level but even go lower, that's what I told my American counterpart, Scott Bessent," Lombard told Sud Radio.

"He told me that this was not out of reach, it's a discussion that is just beginning," Lombard added as he summarized talks with Bessent and other U.S. officials in Washington last week.

EU Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said last week in Washington that the bloc's zero-tariff offer met with only moderate U.S. interest.

But Lombard said Washington has been softening its position and sees some non-tariff barriers as more important than tariff levels.

The Trump administration has criticized the EU's value-added tax as a non-tariff trade barrier even though it is a consumption levy similar to sales tax in the United States.