US tariff policy could continue to create uncertainty in Europe and the wider world - Rinkevics

RIGA - Latvia must be prepared that he the US tariff policy can continue to create uncertainty in Europe and the wider world, President Edgars Rinkevics said Friday during a meeting with the EU Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Implementation and Simplification, Valdis Dombrovskis (New Unity).

As the president's adviser Martins Dregeris told LETA, during the meeting the officials discussed US-EU trade relations and the EU's proposals for boosting defense funding and support to Ukraine.

The president noted that on the one hand, the US tariff policy can create economic shocks, but on the other - also opportunities as EU countries expand to new markets. In Rinkevics' view, the sides need to come to the negotiating table to agree on mutually beneficial trade rules.

The president said that the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the continuous uncertainty have clearly highlighted the need for the EU to become more self-sufficient, especially when it comes to producing critical goods. In the president's opinion, this is the only way to make the EU more resilient to various shocks. He indicated that this could be achieved by diversifying risks and sales markets in the world, as well as by promoting production in high value-added sectors.

On the issue of the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework for the next programming period, the president said that Latvia needs to use the funding available under EU programs for the period 2021-2027 as efficiently as possible, while at the same time actively standing up for its interests in the context of the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

The president stressed the need to pay special attention to Latvia's regions most affected by the geopolitical pressure caused by Russia's aggression, particularly at Latvia's eastern borders. Rinkevics also referred to past experience, saying that simple and flexible rules are need that would enable member states' fast adaptation to changeable conditions.

At the meeting, Dombrovskis shared his vision on the EU's planned red-tape cutting measures.