Dutch PM wants zero-percent tariff deal with U.S. after NATO Summit

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said Wednesday he wants to strike a trade deal with the United States that would eliminate tariffs, following an agreement on increased defense spending at the NATO summit.

“For me, the ideal tariff is zero percent,” Schoof told reporters ahead of a European Union summit. He called for a separation between trade issues and defense negotiations, saying, “These two matters should be seen independently.”

Schoof confirmed he had conveyed this position directly to U.S. President Donald Trump. “For the Netherlands — a country that essentially exists by the grace of trade and open commerce — there really should be no tariffs at all, only open trade,” he said.

Tensions between the EU and the U.S. are escalating as Trump threatens punitive tariffs on Spain for its failure to commit to NATO’s new defense spending target of 5 percent of GDP. Spain is the only NATO member not aligning with the target, prompting Trump to warn of possible trade consequences for Spain, which would reportedly affect the entire EU.

“I heard that comment at President Trump’s press conference,” Schoof said when asked about the threat. “But it is, of course, far too early for that.”

Negotiations over the U.S. tariffs on EU goods remain ongoing. Trump has already raised all existing tariffs to 10 percent and is threatening to go higher. The EU has been engaged in intense talks with Washington in an attempt to prevent escalation. The current deadline to reach a trade agreement is July 9.

If no agreement is reached by then and the U.S. increases tariffs, the EU is reportedly prepared to impose retaliatory import duties on American goods. A substantial response package is said to be already in place.