Negotiations with the United States on new tariffs are underway. Norway must be prepared for the possibility that they may be high, emphasizes Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
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- NTB-Marius Helge Larsen and Steinar Schjetne
– We are having constructive talks with the US, and I am happy about that. But the way the Americans have set this up, we must be prepared for a tariff rate that may be high, the Prime Minister told NTB on Wednesday – two days before the deadline the Americans have set expires.
President Donald Trump's message to Norway has so far been that Norwegian goods will be subject to a 15 percent tariff. Norway hopes to negotiate this down to 10 percent, but that is up to Trump himself to decide.
– Critical
According to TV 2, a possible customs agreement between the US and Norway is more or less complete. What is missing is approval from Trump.
– I repeat that this is an instrument we are critical of. We do not believe that world trade or bilateral trade will improve with tariffs, the Prime Minister emphasizes.
Støre will not compare the Norwegian-American process with the one the EU has had with the US. It ended in an agreement with a general tariff rate of 15 percent on EU goods to the US – and no tariffs on goods going the other way.
Negotiations between the two major trading blocs in the world are naturally different from those taking place between the United States and Norway, which has relatively modest exports across the pond, according to Støre.
– We must take the Norwegian issues and the dialogue we have had as a starting point to also look at cooperation opportunities with the United States, he says.
Deadline on Friday
The deadline set by the US to reach an agreement expires on Friday, August 1. Norway has its best people on the matter, according to the Prime Minister. He is confident that they will succeed.
– There is a deadline set for Friday, but the world continues after that day. So I don't intend to let us be pressured into any result just because it's Friday, he says.
