As Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wrapped up a trip across the northern border to discuss trade partnerships with Canada, an ambassador from across the Atlantic landed in Salt Lake City with the aim of preserving business relationships.
European Union Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė came to the Beehive State with a message: If President Donald Trump follows through with aggressive global tariffs, “nobody else but consumers will pay for that.”
Earlier this week, the Trump administration pressed pause on a “reciprocal” 20% tariff on all goods from the EU for 90 days — a move that Trump says will give the White House time to negotiate a better deal. The EU had announced retaliatory plans — now also shelved — hours earlier.
Still, a 10% minimum universal tariff and a 25% tariff on cars, steel and aluminum remain in place.
Neliupšienė told The Salt Lake Tribune in a Friday interview that she hopes Utah leaders can help increase pressure on Trump to negotiate a trade agreement. The ambassador is encouraging “every good word saying that tariffs will not solve the problem,” she said.
Her two-day agenda included visits with Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and two of Utah’s six members of Congress — Reps. Burgess Owens and Mike Kennedy. Trade, Neliupšienė said, was the highest priority on her list as she entered the meetings.
Republican officials in Utah have so far had split reactions to Trump’s tariffs.
Read the full report at sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.