There may be some hope for the EU in the tariffs war with the US, if recent comments from US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross are to be believed. In an interview with the Financial Times, Ross hinted at the possibility of opening up new negotiations as an alternative to implementing tariffs on autos and auto parts imported from the EU.

Earlier in 2019, US President Donald Trump had threatened to hike tariffs on EU imported cars and auto parts as they posed a national security threat to the US. However, he granted a six-month reprieve till November when he delayed his decision in hopes for more rounds of discussions.

Last Friday marked the beginning of new tariff hikes on $7.5 billion worth of imports from the EU in response to the WTO ruling on the issue of aircraft subsidies given by the Union to Airbus. Ross suggested that the US may be open to holding more negotiations on the issue of additional tariffs on EU imports as a way to prevent any further escalation of the trade dispute.