Hungary refuses to support EU retaliation against US tariffs

Hungary will not back the European Union’s retaliatory measures to raise customs tariffs in trade with the United States, the country’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said after an EU ministerial meeting in Luxembourg.

"The European Commission is looking at measures to respond to the United States’ decision to raise tariffs. We don’t support the European Union’s actions in response to the US tariff increase," the minister told Hungarian journalists, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The top Hungarian diplomat stated that Budapest will not vote for such EU measures, but acknowledged that "this will not be enough," as such decisions require only a qualified majority and not a full consensus. However, in his words, a number of other countries, including one of the European Union’s biggest countries, share Hungary’s stance.

Hungary favors "talks on lowering tariffs in trade between the United States and the European Union, not raising them," Szijjarto said, recalling that US tariffs on European cars stand at 2% while the EU has slapped a 10% tariff on cars imported from the United States. Budapest has been calling on Brussels to equalize these tariffs to avoid a trade war with Washington, but Brussels has been deaf to these calls, he added.

The European Commission and its President Ursula von der Leyen were aware of the new US administration’s plans but due to their strained relations chose to raise the tariff stakes instead of negotiating pragmatically. During the ministerial meeting in Luxembourg, Hungary once again warned the European Union about the risks of a trade war which will hit all who are involved in it, Szijjarto noted.

​On April 2, President Donald Trump introduced a series of "reciprocal tariffs" aimed at addressing perceived trade imbalances between the United States and its trading partners. These tariffs include a baseline 10% duty on all imports, with higher rates for specific countries based on factors such as existing tariffs, trade deficits, and other trade barriers. ​

The tariffs are derived from bilateral trade deficits rather than matching foreign tariffs directly, leading to higher U.S. tariffs on countries like Vietnam and Taiwan compared to what these nations levy on American goods. ​

Vietnam, a growing economic powerhouse in Southeast Asia, became one of the primary targets of Trump's tariff policies due to its booming manufacturing sector, particularly in electronics and textiles. On April 2, 2025, the U.S. imposed a 46% tariff on Vietnamese exports, sharply escalating tensions between the two nations.

By Khagan Isayev