EU pushes back as US revives trade pressure on bloc

The European Union responded to renewed trade pressure from the United States on Friday, accusing the bloc of enabling Chinese evasion of US tariffs and demanding that it roll back green rules on businesses. US Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder urged the EU to align its environmental and human rights supply chain standards with the EU-US trade deal last year.

The document detailing US concerns stated that the EU must address unreasonable burdens on US commerce. The EU's European Commission spokesperson, Arianna Podesta, said the bloc continued to exchange on both tariff and non-tariff issues with the US, describing the process as constructive. However, Podesta emphasized that the EU's rules framework and regulatory autonomy are not up for negotiation.

The EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) require large companies to address adverse human rights and environmental impacts in their global supply chains, as well as provide climate impact and emissions information. The US document claimed that these directives adversely impact US businesses' competitiveness in the EU market.

The EU has already reduced the scope of both laws under business pressure, but the US document said this was not enough. Puzder also criticized the EU's carbon border tax, CBAM, calling it a tariff in substance. The US flagged the EU among risks for illegal transshipment from China in a recent report, but the EU maintains it shares the US objective of tackling customs fraud.