Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has launched a scathing attack on the European Union’s leadership following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of an impending 25 percent tariff on European imports.
In a statement on his social media channels, Szijjártó accused the EU leadership, specifically the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen, of incompetence and cowardice in trade negotiations with Washington, accusing Brussels of failing to act despite knowing Trump’s stance on trade fairness and the likelihood of new tariffs.
“The whole world, including Brussels, knew very well that Donald Trump wants balanced trade conditions,” Szijjártó stated. “They knew, but they did nothing. Because they are incompetent, and especially cowards.”
“They bullied Donald Trump for eight years and now they don’t dare to face him,” Szijjártó added, lamenting von der Leyen’s leadership of the bloc which he says has now “isolated the European economy, after China, from the American economy as well.”
The Hungarian minister emphasized that the EU could have averted the tariffs with minor policy adjustments proposed by Budapest, such as lowering the duty on American cars imported into Europe from 10 percent to 2.5 percent, matching U.S. tariffs on European cars. However, according to him, bureaucratic inefficiency prevented such action.
“Brussels bureaucracy is killing the European economy: sanctions on Russia, customs on the Chinese electric car industry, and the complete inability to negotiate with the United States,” Szijjártó added.
President Trump, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, justified the new tariffs, saying, “The European Union was formed to screw the United States – that’s the purpose of it and they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.” The 25 percent tariff, he noted, would apply broadly to European goods, with a particular impact on the auto industry — a move likely to give the new German government a sizeable headache.
The European Union responded with a strong rebuttal, warning that it would react “firmly and immediately against unjustified tariffs.”
“It has been a boon for the United States. We’re ready to partner if you play by the rules. But we will also protect our consumers and businesses at every turn. They expect no less from us,” a spokesperson for the European Commission stated.
Hungary now appears to be intent on using the goodwill it has secured with the Trump administration over recent years to seek an independent path to safeguard its economic interests. Szijjártó announced that Budapest would engage in direct negotiations with Washington to ensure strong Hungarian-American trade relations. “What Brussels damaged, we must fix here in Budapest,” he declared, vowing to pursue the “most productive Hungarian-American economic cooperation of all time.”
