Fico: Introduction of Trump's Tariffs to Hit Car Industry Hardest

Bratislava, March 31 (TASR) - US President Donald Trump has decided to introduce tariffs on imports of goods and services from the entire world as of April 2, with tariffs to hit the automobile industry in Slovakia hard in particular, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) declared after a special emergency session of the government on Monday. "There will be three aspects to these tariffs. The first is that all EU-member states will be burdened by new tariffs on all goods and services, and then there's the second aspect, which concerns various standards. They might complicate exports of products from Europe to the United States to a certain extent," claimed Fico, adding that what matters to Slovakia most is the United States' tariff policies on cars, the pharmaceutical industry and semiconductors. The introduction of high tariffs will mainly impact the automobile industry in Slovakia, specifically Volkswagen and Jaguar Landrover, and it is these companies that will have to prepare for an entirely new set of conditions. "We'll hold a meeting with these producers soon. We'll listen very closely when it comes to what measures they will propose and then offer the measures ... to the European Commission, so as to have the EU speak together and respond," claimed Fico. mf/df